Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response (May 12, 2022)

The Russian Federation carries out purposeful and coordinated work to evacuate civilians and foreign citizens from dangerous areas, carries out large-scale measures to provide comprehensive assistance to the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, as well as to the population in controlled areas of Ukraine.

Every day from 10:00 (Moscow time), the Russian side opens humanitarian corridors in the Kharkov, Lugansk, Donetsk and Crimean directions towards Russia. In addition, the Russian Federation is ready to deploy additional corridors in any other directions as soon as possible and ensure the safe evacuation of civilians both to Russia and to areas controlled by the Kiev authorities, as well as on the territory of other foreign states. On all routes agreed with the Ukrainian side, the Russian Armed Forces, together with the formations of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, strictly observe the ceasefire. Information on the functioning of humanitarian corridors is brought daily to the official Kiev, the UN, the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross and published in the bulletin of the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response. In this context, any statements by the Ukrainian side about allegedly blocking the exit of civilians from towns controlled by Russian troops look absurd. It is the Kiev authorities themselves, on the contrary, who prevent the evacuation of citizens in every possible way: the militants of nationalist battalions systematically fire at the exits from the settlements blocked by them, using artillery and mortars.

Over the past day alone, 102 requests with appeals for evacuation to the territory of Russia, Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, as well as to the areas of Zaporozhye controlled by the Russian Armed Forces have been received by the hotline of the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, federal executive authorities, subjects of the Russian Federation and various public organizations of Ukrainian citizens. Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions. In total, there are 2,755,455 such requests in the database. Behind these figures are the fates of specific people, the lives of their relatives and friends from 2,135 settlements of Ukraine.

At the same time, these citizens are looking for any opportunities to evacuate to the territory of Russia, but they cannot leave the settlements on their own, since the exits from them are blocked, and the people themselves are intimidated by neo-Nazis, afraid of persecution and physical elimination.

All the facts of the mockery and abuse of the Kiev regime over its own people are already there and have sufficient evidence, but why is the “civilized West” silent about it? Sooner or later all the crimes will be made known to the world and will be investigated in detail; the perpetrators will inevitably receive the just punishment they deserve for the atrocities they have committed.

The Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, in cooperation with the authorized federal executive authorities, continues to record numerous egregious facts of the inhumane attitude of the Kiev authorities to civilians.

Ukrainian armed formations continue to use medical infrastructure facilities to equip strong points and deploy heavy weapons in them:

In Borovsky, Lugansk People’s Republic, wounded militants of Ukrainian nationalist formations are housed in the polyclinic building on Krasnaya Street.

Civilians, including seriously ill, were forced to leave the medical facility under threat of reprisals, and at all approaches to the polyclinic, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine deployed checkpoints and equipped the firing points;

In Lysychansk of the Lugansk People’s Republic, the buildings of the children’s hospital on 40 Let Pobedy Street and the medical college on Chernovaya Street are equipped with a strongpoint of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and heavy weapons are placed on the adjacent territory.

These and other similar facts, gross violations of the norms of international humanitarian law, despite our repeated statements, have so far been ignored by the World Health Organization.

Once again, we call on all international organizations, and, first of all, the World Health Organization, to influence official Kiev and take effective measures aimed at preventing the use of medical infrastructure facilities by the Armed Forces for military purposes.

In addition, according to reliable information in the Kharkov region, neo-Nazis, together with members of the Security Service of Ukraine, conduct punitive raids in order to check local residents for signs of pro-Russian views, as well as the facts of transmitting any information to Russian servicemen and representatives of the People’s militia of the republics of Donbass. All suspects are arrested under the category of “collaborationism” of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and taken to an unknown location.

Such criminal actions of the Kiev authorities are aimed at intimidating the citizens of Ukraine in an attempt to hide the current catastrophic situation in the country caused by the destructive policy of official Kiev, and indicate complete indifference to the fate of millions of Ukrainians.

Despite all the difficulties created by Kiev, over the past day, without the participation of the Ukrainian authorities, 19,575 people, including 4,006 children, were evacuated from dangerous areas of the Donetsk, Lugansk people’s republics and Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, there have already been 1,237,256 people evacuated, 215,583 of whom are children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 165,876 units of personal motor transport, including 7,810 over the past day.

We continue to maintain a sufficient number of comfortable buses at the checkpoints to transport people to their chosen places of residence or to temporary accommodation, where hot meals are organized, qualified medical and psychological assistance is provided in a timely manner.

In the subjects of the Russian Federation, there are more than 9.5 thousand temporary accommodation facilities operating on a regular basis. Individual work is carried out with arriving refugees and assistance is promptly provided in solving various pressing issues related to further placement, assistance in finding employment, providing children with places in kindergartens and educational institutions, as well as providing social benefits.

75 foreign vessels from 17 states remain blocked in seven ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa, Yuzhny and Mariupol). The threat of shelling and high mine danger created by official Kiev in its internal waters and territorial sea do not allow vessels to freely enter the open sea.

Every day from 08:00 to 19:00 (Moscow time), the Russian Armed Forces open a humanitarian corridor, which is a safe lane for ships moving in a south-westerly direction from the territorial sea of Ukraine with a length of 80 and a width of 3 nautical miles.

Detailed information on the functioning of the maritime humanitarian corridor is transmitted daily every 15 minutes via VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian.

The Kiev authorities, as before, in every possible way shy away from interacting with representatives of foreign states and ship-owning companies in resolving the issue of ensuring the safe exit of blocked vessels to the collection area.

At the same time, there remains a danger to navigation and damage to the port infrastructure from the drift of Ukrainian mines torn from their anchors along the coast of the Black Sea states.

The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of civil navigation in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas.

The federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations and patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid.

The largest contribution to the provision of assistance was made by:
EMERCOM, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications, federal service of state registration, cadastre and cartography, federal agency of sea and river transport, Ministry of Culture, federal agency for nationalities, federal agency for the commonwealth of independent states, compatriots living abroad, and international humanitarian cooperation; the republics of Buryatia, Dagestan, Crimea, Tatarstan, the Chechen Republic, Altai, Transbaikal, Krasnodar, Primorsky territory, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Tula, Ulyanovsk regions and the city of Moscow;

Among the political parties and non–profit organizations are United Russia, People’s Front, Combat Brotherhood, Russian Humanitarian Mission and Union of Women of Russia.

Over 23 thousand tons of basic necessities, vital medicines and food packages, including infant food, have been prepared at the collection points.

In the liberated territories, the Russian Armed Forces and military formations of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics are creating all the necessary conditions for a peaceful and safe life, providing comprehensive assistance to the population, including unhindered access to any humanitarian aid.

Starting from March 2, 2022, the Russian Federation has already delivered 19,126.6 tons of basic necessities, food, medicines and medical products to Ukraine, 998 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including six over the past day in the Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions, during which 260.5 tons of humanitarian aid were transferred to the civilian population.

On May 12, 2022, four humanitarian actions are being held in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions, during which 231 tons of basic necessities and food are being transferred to the population.

WtR