Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response (June 7, 2022)

The Russian Federation’s Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response continues to record the Kiev regime’s criminal actions against civilians. Despite acute grain shortages and the threat of a food crisis, Ukrainian armed formations, disregarding the welfare of their own people, continue to use critical grain processing and storage facilities for military purposes:

in Gubarevka, Kharkov Region, militants of the territorial defence units have deployed armoured vehicles and equipped artillery firing positions on the territory of a grain elevator;

in Kharkov Region, AFU units have deployed Western-made artillery guns (presumably American M777 howitzers) at Zolochevskyi grain elevator, which are used to shell the Russian Federation’s border areas;

in Novoekonomicheskyi, Donetsk People’s Republic and Novovasil’ivka, Sumy Region, AFU units are stationed in grain and potato storage hangars, while heavy armoured vehicles, large-calibre artillery and MLRS are deployed in the surrounding area;

in Novodonetskoe, Donetsk People’s Republic, militants of Ukrainian nationalist formations have deployed artillery and MLRS on the territory of grain elevator, from which they are systematically shelling nearby settlements.

The purpose of such actions by Ukrainian nationalists is to provoke retaliatory fire, after which to accuse the Russian Armed Forces of allegedly indiscriminate strikes against civilian infrastructure and threatening Ukraine’s food security, following a well-established scenario with extensive media coverage in the Ukrainian and Western media.

In addition, it has been reliably established that fighters of the nationalist battalions, leaving the captured territories and refusing to leave supplies of grain to Mariupol residents, deliberately set fire to a large grain storage facility in the seaport. As a result, more than 50,000 tonnes of grain have been burnt. This inhumane crime shows the world community the “true face” of the Kiev regime, which, in fact, uses methods of food terrorism against its own people. All this is taking place in the context of the full support of the countries of the so-called civilised West and the ongoing hysteria around the false accusations of the Russian Federation in creating a food crisis in the world.

We emphasize once again that in carrying out the tasks of the special military operation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation treat the local population extremely humanely and do not strike at civilian infrastructure facilities, unlike the Ukrainian armed formations.

Despite all the difficulties and obstacles imposed by the Ukrainian side, over the past day, without the participation of Kiev, 22,695 people were evacuated from dangerous areas, 3,069 of them children, and in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 1,713,509 people have already been evacuated, of which 276,428 are children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 249,602 personal vehicles including 3,663 per day.

More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the regions of the Russian Federation. 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.

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 82 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 2,757,667 such appeals from 2,137 locations in Ukraine in the database.

In addition, 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked in 6 Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy). The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevents vessels from entering the high seas unhindered.

As a result of the measures taken by the Russian Navy, the mine threat in the waters of the port of Mariupol has been eliminated and measures are being taken to restore the port infrastructure.

The Russian Armed Forces have created conditions for the operation of two maritime humanitarian corridors, which are safe lanes for ships:

in the Black Sea – to leave Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhnyi ports in a south-westerly direction from Ukraine’s territorial sea, 139 miles long and 3 miles wide;

in the Sea of Azov, to leave Mariupol port 115 miles long and 2 miles wide towards the Black Sea.

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.

Demining detachments of the Russian Armed Forces and the EMERCOM of Russia are carrying out land and facility clearance tasks in the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics.

A total of 2,877.06 hectares were checked (including 43.03 hectares during the day), 35 buildings (including 13 socially important facilities), 1 bridge and 9.64 km of roads. 14,881 explosives were detected and defused, 738 of them during the day.

Federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations, patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid. More than 31,000 tonnes of basic necessities and food kits, including baby food and life-saving medicines, have been prepared at collection points.
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 Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, 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 Agency for Maritime and River Transport, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Nationalities;

republics of Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Crimea, Tatarstan, Chechen Republic, Altai, Trans-Baikal, Krasnodar and Khabarovsk regions, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Rostov, Samara, Sverdlovsk, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk and Yaroslavl regions, Nenets Autonomous District, as well as Moscow and Saint Petersburg;

among political parties and non-profit organisations: United Russia, the All-Russian Public Movement “People’s Front”, the All-Russian Public Organisation of Veterans “Battle Brotherhood”, the autonomous non-profit organisation to support humanitarian programmes “Russian Humanitarian Mission”, the Open Joint Stock Company “Russian Railways”, the State Atomic Energy Corporation “Rosatom” and the All-Russian Public State Organisation “Union of Russian Women”.

. Since March 2, 27,334.7 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 1,122 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 4 actions in Kharkov and Kherson regions, as well as in Donetsk People’s Republic, during which 220 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.

On June 7, 8 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Kharkov, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, in Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, during which 642 tons of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed.

WtR