KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine and some of its Western allies condemned yesterday a decision by pro-Russian separatists to ban most foreign aid organisations from parts of rebel-held territory, saying the move violated the Minsk peace agreement.
On Thursday, rebel officials of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) said they had refused accreditation to 10 out of 11 foreign humanitarian agencies, ordering them to leave LNR territory by Sept 25.
They said the reasons for the decision were “justified” without giving further details, separatist website LITs reported. “Ukraine expresses its deep concern, as banning the work of international organisations primarily affects civilians,” presidential representative Iryna Herashchenko told Reuters.
“This is an attempt to disrupt the Minsk (peace) process.”
Under the 12-point peace plan signed in Minsk, Belarus, in February, both sides committed to ensuring safe access and distribution of humanitarian aid “on the basis of an international mechanism”.
The banned organisations, which include Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and UN agencies, provide much-needed aid to civilians across eastern Ukraine, many of whose houses and livelihoods were destroyed in around 18 months of fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists seeking independence.
The US State Department condemned the decision. “Expelling these organizations puts at risk up to three million people in separatist-held parts of Donbas by denying them access to food, water, medicine, shelter, and clothes in advance of winter,” it said in a statement.
