21.03.2022 (21:30)
Meeting of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine
Speech of the Chief of the National Centre for State Defence Control
Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev
(March 21, 2022)
On March 20, 2022, the Russian Federation once again appealed to the Kiev authorities, as well as to the United Nations, the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations with unprecedented initiatives to conduct a large-scale humanitarian operation to rescue residents of Mariupol and foreign citizens in conditions of a severe humanitarian disaster.
According to the statement of the official representative of Kiev, in response to the proposals of the Russian Federation dictated by the principles of humanity, at 2 a.m. on March 21, 2022, an unjustified refusal to save people was received, that "there can be no question of any surrender, laying down arms."
The Kiev regime has once again shown its true face and complete indifference to the human lives of more than 130,000 innocent citizens of its country who are held captive by the crazed terrorist gangs in Mariupol.
By blocking the corridors for civilians to exit, the nationalists deprive them of the opportunity to escape, leaving them in the combat zone as a "human shield". And everyone who tries to evacuate on their own is being bullied everywhere or viciously shot in the back.
At the same time, against the background of Kiev's official statement about the refusal to carry out a humanitarian operation, and the militants to lay down their arms, they hypocritically instructed nationalist battalions to leave the city in small groups under the guise of civilians, dressed in civilian clothes, using any opportunities, including along humanitarian corridors. And the bandits immediately began to carry out this order.
So, on March 20, 2022, the terrorists of Azov battalion killed the parents of two minor children and, hiding behind the same children, tried to drive a car belonging to the family along the humanitarian corridor to Zaporozhye, but they were identified and promptly detained by Russian servicemen, and the children were rescued and the necessary assistance is being provided to them.
Already 62,051 residents of Mariupol have been saved, finding themselves in complete safety in Russia, openly talk about all the mass outrages and crimes committed by nationalists, which are carefully recorded. All of them will be investigated in detail, the perpetrators will be found and will certainly be punished for the atrocities they committed.
Similar crimes occur on a regular basis in other settlements:
in Odessa and Chernigov, urgent discharge of patients, including those in serious condition from medical institutions, is underway. Nationalists equip strong points and firing positions in these buildings, as well as warehouses of military equipment and ammunition;
in Nikolaev region, in almost all large settlements, territorial defence militants conduct a detour of households and force all males to enroll in their ranks, for refusal they are shot on the spot.
Despite all the outrages of the brutal nationalists, destructive and irresponsible decisions of the Kiev authorities against their own people, the Russian Federation continues, without the participation of the Ukrainian side, to carry out a set of measures to evacuate civilians and foreigners to safe areas.
Today from 10 a.m. the Russian Federation has already provided humanitarian corridors for the eighteenth time in Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy and Kharkov directions, along one humanitarian corridor to the Russian Federation, and one more through the territories controlled by the Kiev authorities towards the western borders of Ukraine.
Official Kiev has not agreed on any corridor towards Russia again.
At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities additionally announced 11 more routes - on the Kiev and Zaporozhye directions, cynically ignoring humanitarian corridors to the Russian Federation.
Pursuing exclusively humane principles, in order to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians forcibly held by nationalists in blocked settlements, on all, including new routes, the Russian Armed Forces and military formations of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics fully comply with the imposed ceasefire.
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 day, another 6,267 such appeals have been received, and in total there are already 2,722,703 of 2,095 settlements in Ukraine in the database.
Despite the humanitarian corridors opening daily, Ukrainian nationalists continue to hold more than 4,500,000 civilians as a "human shield" in Kiev, Kharkov, Chernigov, Sumy and more than 20 other blocked large settlements, as well as 6,825 foreign citizens from 23 foreign states.
In addition, in the seaports of Ukraine, due to the high mine danger created by the Kiev authorities in their internal waters and territorial sea, the crews of 67 vessels from 15 foreign countries remain blocked.
The Russian Federation fulfills all its humanitarian obligations. The necessary conditions for a peaceful and safe life are being created in the liberated territories, comprehensive assistance is being provided to the population, including unhindered access to any humanitarian aid.
Over the past day, without the participation of the Kiev authorities, 16,054 people were evacuated from dangerous areas of Ukraine, Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics to Russia, including 4,631 children, in total, 346,760 people, of which 73,614 children, have already been evacuated since the beginning of the special military operation.
The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 40,392 personal vehicles including 1,867 per day.
All checkpoints contain the necessary number of comfortable buses, equipped with places for temporary accommodation of refugees, their rest and hot meals, mobile medical centres have been deployed, a supply of medicines has been created. Individual work is organized with each person arriving in Russia, medical and psychological assistance is provided.
More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the regions of the Russian Federation.
The federal executive authorities, together with the regions, as well as various public organizations and patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid. More than 21,000 tons of basic necessities, food and medicines have been prepared at the collection points.
Humanitarian aid is delivered daily by the Russian side to the liberated areas. Since March 2, 4,165 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 513 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 21 actions in Kiev, Kharkov and Chernigov regions, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 366 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.
On March 21, 2022, 32 humanitarian actions are being held in the republics of Donbass, as well as in the liberated settlements of Ukraine, within the framework of which 200 tons of basic necessities and food packages, including baby food and vital medicines, are being transferred to the population.
