Donetsk, Nov 12 - DAN. The Donetsk People’s Republic Head’s “instruction” on sharing the funds allocated by the International Committee of the Red Cross among coalminers and government and law-enforcement officers, which is being disseminated on the Internet, is a fake, DPR representative at the Contact Group talks, the Republic’s Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said on Thursday.
“A fake instruction by the DPR Head alleges that the Republic’s authorities decided to allocate the money provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross to civil servants and the military,” the DPR Foreign Ministry press service quoted Nikonorova as saying. “It has already come to smearing the image and reputation of one of the largest and respected humanitarian organisations in the world.”
Ukrainian authorities are behind these fakes. “Kiev hates the fact that the ICRC, as a neutral humanitarian organisation, equally helps Donbass residents on both sides of the contact line, without any preferences or discrimination,” she said.
Donetsk and the ICRC have stepped up their interaction in the recent months. The organisation plans a number of projects in the Republic, such as assistance to frontline zone residents and social infrastructure restoration. ICRC representatives take an active part in the search for missing persons in connection with the conflict and help detainees. ICRC officials make regular visits to Donetsk. Last week, ICRC President Peter Maurer met with DPR leader Denis Pushilin.*jk