Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine (May 5, 2022)

The Russian Federation’s Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response, in co-operation with the authorised federal executive authorities, continues to carefully record the continuing egregious facts of the inhumane treatment of civilians by the authorities in Kiev, including the use of medical facilities for military purposes by AFU units:

in Kharkov, artillery and ammunition storage facilities have been located on the territory of city hospital No 8, and the hospital staff and all civilians, including the seriously ill, have been forced to leave the medical facility under threat of reprisals;

in Slavyansk, heavy military equipment has been placed on the territory of the railway hospital on Malogorodetskaya Street and a stronghold with an ammunition depot has been equipped in the building;

in Odessa, AFU command post has been set up in the building of the regional clinical hospital on Akademika Zabolotnyi Street, while armoured vehicles, artillery and MLRS are located in the adjoining territory;

in Lisichansk, a stronghold of nationalist battalion fighters has been deployed on the territory of a child health centre.

These and other similar facts, despite our repeated statements, have to date been ignored by the World Health Organisation.

Once again, we call on all international organisations, especially the World Health Organisation, to influence official Kiev and take effective measures to prevent the use of medical infrastructure for military purposes.
Despite all the difficulties and obstacles posed by Kiev, over the past 24 hours, without the involvement of the Ukrainian authorities, 15,637 people, including 2,002 children, have been evacuated from dangerous areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
Since the beginning of the special military operation, a total of 1,129,955 people have been evacuated, including 201,350 children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 146,642 personal vehicles including 2,051 per day.

More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and are fully equipped with recreational facilities and hot meals. The refugees are dealt with on an individual basis and are promptly assisted with various pressing issues relating to onward accommodation, employment assistance, places for children in kindergartens and educational institutions, and the provision of entitlements to social benefits.

A significant part of the population forcibly held by radicals in Ukrainian cities is still looking for any opportunities to evacuate to Russia, as evidenced by numerous appeals of citizens through various channels to the official structures of the Russian Federation. Over the past 24 hours, the hotline of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, federal executive authorities, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and various NGOs received 123 requests from foreign and Ukrainian citizens to evacuate to Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, as well as to the Russian Armed Forces-controlled areas of Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions. In total there are 2,754,677 such appeals from 2,133 locations in Ukraine in the database.

In addition, 75 foreign vessels from 17 countries remain blocked in 7 Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa, Yuzhniy and Mariupol). The threat of shelling and high mine danger created by official Kiev in its internal waters and territorial sea prevents vessels from safely leaving the ports and reaching the open sea.

In confirmation of this, the Russian Federation is opening daily from 08:00 to 19:00 (Moscow time) a humanitarian corridor, which is a safe lane south-west of Ukraine’s territorial sea, 80 nautical miles long and 3 nautical miles wide.

Detailed information in English and Russian on the modus operandi of the maritime humanitarian corridor is broadcast daily every 15 minutes on VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian.
At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to avoid engaging with representatives of states and ship-owning companies to resolve the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area.

The danger to navigation from Ukrainian mines drifting off their anchors along the coasts of Black Sea states remains.
The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of civilian navigation in the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations, patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid.
The greatest contributors to the relief effort were:

Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, Federal Maritime and River Transport Agency, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Nationalities, Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation;
Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Crimea, Tatarstan and Chechen republics, Altai and Krasnodar territories, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Tula regions and Moscow city;

Among political parties and non-profit organisations: United Russia, the People’s Front All-Russian Public Movement, the All-Russian Public Organisation of Veterans “Battle Brotherhood”, the Russian Humanitarian Mission, the Russian Union of Russian Women, the Almaz-Antey Military Defence Concern, and interregional public organisation Federation of Military Tactical Games.

More than 23,000 tonnes of basic necessities and food kits, including baby food and life-saving medicines, have been prepared at collection points.
Since March 2, 17,737 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 971 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 4 actions in Kherson region, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republic, during which 169.4 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.

On May 5, 7 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Kharkov and Zaporozye regions, in Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, during which 308.6 tons of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed.

WtR