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The humanitarian organization the White Helmets has a warning for the people of Ukraine: use caution when dealing with the United Nations. The group has been working to help civilians in the Syrian civil war and said they are seeing the same patterns in Ukraine that they’ve seen in Syria when dealing with the Russian military.
“Indeed, we have seen many similarities between the conflict in Syria and the conflict in Ukraine,” said White Helmets Director Raed Saleh. “The same scenes of massive destruction caused by the Russians that we’ve seen in cities like Damascus, rural Damascus, Aleppo and Idlib are being repeated in Kyiv, are being repeated in Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities.
A refugee fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war wipes away tears after seeing a relative at the Romanian-Ukrainian border.
(AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
“And as we all know, the Russian military has no respect for the basic principles of avoiding civilian targets or infrastructure or sparing unnecessary casualties. The Russians don’t abide by these principles.”
Saleh said his group notified the U.N. through their humanitarian notification system of two medical sites only to have them targeted days later. He said he believes the Russian military used the information to target these civilian aid areas in violation of international law.
A joint funeral takes place at SS. Peter and Paul Garrison Church for two soldiers who died in the east of the country during recent fighting.
(Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
“Another thing that the U.N. has done in Syria is that it allowed the Russians to weaponize aid that flows and into Syria,” he said. “As we all know, the mechanism that allows entry of aid to Syria is renewed every year, and Russia is always trying to find ways to weaponize aid against civilians, and I fear that the same thing would happen to Ukraine. So my advice to Ukrainians is to approach the issue with caution and to not share vital locations, especially hospital locations, with anyone.”
The United Nations responded to Fox News Digital in a statement saying that their system notifies all parties where aid centers are so both sides can avoid harming civilians.
“The humanitarian notification system in Syria and elsewhere aims to facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance. It does so by informing parties to the conflict of the locations of humanitarian facilities – warehouses and offices for example – and movements, for example a convoy with humanitarian supplies, so that the parties can factor them into their military operations in order to avoid harm to them,” said a U.N. spokesperson.
The international group also said humanitarian organizations like the White Helmets choose to give that information and know it is shared with all sides involved in the conflict.
Responders are seen at the scene after a building destroyed by a Russian rocket attack in downtown Kharkiv
(Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“It is important to stress that whether or not a humanitarian organization or a party to the conflict participates in the humanitarian notification system, all parties to the conflict have obligations under international humanitarian law not to direct attacks against civilians or civilian objects [including humanitarian personnel or assets] and to take constant care to spare them throughout their military operations,” said the spokesperson.
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The concerns from the humanitarian organization come as the violence in Eastern Europe escalated over the weekend. The civilian death toll is also rising, with Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the death of 90 children since Feb. 24.
The White Helmets has plans to get involved directly in Ukraine with training videos and other resources that are still in the works. In the meantime, the group hopes the U.N. steps up to call out perpetrators in the violence.
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“We believe that the U.N. has a central role to play. We believe that its institutions are vital for the survival of civilians, especially in war-torn countries,” said Saleh. “However, we believe that this role could be played better, could be improved, and that the U.N. should have the courage to speak up and to abandon that gray rhetoric that doesn’t acknowledge the victims and doesn’t name the perpetrator.”
