Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response (August 17, 2022)
Russian Federation's Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response, in cooperation with the authorised federal executive authorities, continues to record numerous facts of criminal actions by Kiev regime against civilians, as well as the use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes by Ukrainian armed formations:
in Donetsk People's Republic:
in Artemovsk, militants of nationalist battalions have equipped a stronghold and ammunition depot in kindergarten No 58 (Gorbatov Street) and placed artillery and mortars in adjacent territory, without evacuating civilians from nearby houses and use them as a human shield;
in Slavyansk, Ukrainian armed formations have deployed armoured vehicles and MLRS in kindergarten No 20 (Torskaya Street), from which they are systematically shelling nearby settlements;
in Soledar, AFU units have equipped a stronghold, barracks and ammunition depots in kindergarten No 59 (Preobrazhenskaya Street) and deployed roadblocks and firing points. Under the pretext of alleged security, the militants have forbidden local residents to leave their homes, and all their attempts to evacuate to safe areas on their own are being severely curtailed;
Such actions by criminal Ukrainian authorities demonstrate complete indifference to the fate of their own citizens and absolute disregard for all norms of morality and the principles of international humanitarian law.
In addition, it is known that the bridge across the Psel river and the approaches to it, as well as the sides of the adjacent road, have been mined by AFU units near Staroye Selo, Sumy Region, while the local population has not been deliberately warned about this. The militants plan to blow up the bridge and accuse the Russian Armed Forces of allegedly indiscriminate strikes against transport infrastructure in a well-established scenario with extensive coverage in the Ukrainian and Western media.
We once again emphasize that during the special military operation, the Russian armed forces and military formations of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics are not targeting civilian infrastructure.
Despite all the difficulties and obstacles imposed by the Ukrainian side, over the past day, without the participation of Kiev, 26,079 people were evacuated from dangerous areas, 4,500 of them children, and in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 3,446,945 people have already been evacuated, of which 540,402 are children.
The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 577,641 personal vehicles including 3,254 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 25 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 2,760,280 such appeals from 2,139 locations in Ukraine and from Kiev-controlled territory of the Donetsk People's Republic in the database.
However, 53 foreign vessels from 14 countries remain blocked in six ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhny). As part of the implementation of Secure Grain Transport Initiative from Ukrainian Ports since August 1, 2022 a total of 21 vessels have left with 563,318 tonnes of food exported, including: Including: 451,481 tonnes of maize, 50,301 tonnes of flour, 11,000 tonnes of soya, 6,000 tonnes of sunflower oil, 41,622 tonnes of wheat, 2,914 tonnes of sunflower.
There also remains a danger to navigation and damage to port infrastructure from drifting Ukrainian mines off anchor along the coast of the Black Sea states.
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, 307 miles long and up to 20 miles wide;
in the Sea of Azov, to leave Mariupol port 115 miles long and 2 miles wide towards the Black Sea.
Demining teams of the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian EMERCOM, as well as EMERCOMs of Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics continue to carry out tasks to clear explosive objects from the Donbass republics and liberated areas of Ukraine.
A total of 18,127.28 hectares were checked, 917 buildings (including 13 socially important facilities), 4 bridges and 150.47 km of roads. 541,387 explosive objects have been detected and deactivated.
The Military Construction Complex of the Russian Defence Ministry continues to build and reconstruct vital facilities as part of the measures to restore the infrastructure of the people's republics of Donbass:
in Donetsk People's Republic:
in Mariupol: the first phase of residential district (12 residential buildings with 1,011 flats, completion date in September-November 2022) and an administrative and rescue centre for EMERCOM (scheduled for completion in December 2022);
60-bed multi-purpose medical centre (completion date in September 2022);
pathologoanatomic building with medical-forensic unit (completion date in October 2022);
Saur-Grave memorial complex (completion date in September 2022);
in Volnovakha - a water pipeline over 20 km long (completion date in October 2022, 100% construction readiness, pontoon station pumps are being installed and connected);
in Lugansk People's Republic:
in Lugansk: 200-bed multi-purpose medical centre (completion date in November 2022);
in Rovenki - water pipeline over 40 km long (completion date in October 2022).
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 Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Federal Tax Service, Federal Customs Service, Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Federal Agency for Fishery;
Republic of Crimea, Chechen Republic, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk and Stavropol Territories, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Sverdlovsk and Tula Regions, the cities of Moscow and Sevastopol, and Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District - Ugra;
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 autonomous non-profit organisations Humanitarian Volunteer Corps and the Russian Humanitarian Mission, the open joint-stock company Russian Railways, the state corporations Roscosmos and Rosatom, and the all-Russian public and state organisation Russian Women's Union.
For a great part of Ukrainians, effectively betrayed by their own criminal authorities, Russian humanitarian aid remains the only way to survive.
More than 53,000 tons of basic necessities, food and medicines have been prepared at the collection points. Since March 2, 2022, 56,421.9 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 1,464 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 6 actions in Zaporozhye, Kherson and Kharkov regions, as well as in Donetsk People's Republic, during which 443.7 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.
On August 17, 6 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Kherson regions, in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 466.7 tonnes of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed.