Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine (April 9, 2022)
The Russian Federation, in strict compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law, continues its systematic and coordinated work to provide comprehensive assistance to the population of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as to civilians and foreign nationals in the liberated territories of Ukraine.
The Russian Armed Forces have been opening humanitarian corridors in the Kharkov and Mariupol directions daily since 10:00 am (Moscow time). In response to humanitarian initiatives by Germany, Turkey and France to evacuate civilians and foreign nationals from Mariupol, also provide humanitarian routes daily open an additional humanitarian corridor to Berdyansk and onwards in two directions: the first by land transport to the Republic of Crimea or Zaporozhye (to Kiev-controlled territories), the second by sea transport to selected destinations. The Ukrainian side has never confirmed the security guarantees of the humanitarian corridor in question and continues to deliberately obstruct the implementation of these humanitarian initiatives.
The Russian side is ready to deploy humanitarian corridors in any other directions as soon as possible and to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians.
The Ukrainian side has announced 10 corridors in the Zaporozhye and Donetsk directions for the current day, of which, as before, none towards Russia.
Over the past 24 hours, without the participation of the Ukrainian authorities, 26,676 people, including 3,447 children, have been evacuated to Russia from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics and dangerous areas of Ukraine, while a total of 704,434 people, including 135,153 children, have been evacuated since the special military operation began.
The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 90,149 vehicles, of which 3,169 per day.
In Mariupol, also without any involvement from the Ukrainian side, 134,299 people have already been rescued from the lawlessness of the nationalists, including 716 in the past 24 hours.
A daily analysis of appeals by Ukrainian citizens to the hotline of the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for humanitarian response in Ukraine, to federal executive authorities, various public organizations, as well as constituent entities of the Russian Federation, to family, friends and acquaintances living in Russia shows that a significant part of the population forcibly held by nationalists in Ukrainian cities is still seeking any opportunity to evacuate to Russian territory.
Over the past day, another 925 such appeals have been received, and in total there are already 2,743,623 of 2,126 settlements in Ukraine in the database.
Ukrainian nationalists continue to hold 6,362 foreign nationals from 13 countries hostage as human shields.
Furthermore, 77 foreign vessels from 18 countries remain blocked in Ukrainian ports. 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.
Information on the operation of the Maritime Humanitarian Corridor is announced in navigational warnings through the World Navigation Alert Service (Area 3, Cadiz, Spain).
Every 15 minutes every day on international VHF radio channels 14 and 16, the Russian Navy transmits messages in English and Russian containing detailed information on the operation of the Maritime Humanitarian Corridor.
At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to fail to acknowledge and shy away from engaging on the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area.
The Russian Federation is taking a full range of exhaustive measures to ensure civilian navigation in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean.
Once again, we call on the International Maritime Organization and the management of ship-owning companies to influence official Kiev to take measures aimed at unblocking and securing the departure of foreign vessels from Ukrainian ports.
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 treated individually and provided with qualified medical and psychological assistance.
A sufficient number of buses have been placed at the border crossing points to transport people to their chosen places of residence or to temporary accommodation centres.
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 Justice of the Russian Federation, Federal Forestry Agency, Federal Agency for Nationalities;
Republics of Buryatia and Tatarstan, Belgorod, Irkutsk, Kursk, Moscow and Sakhalin regions;
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 for the support of humanitarian programmes "Russian Humanitarian Mission", the All-Russian Public Organisation "Russian Boxing Federation", the Charity Foundation "Pro Life" and the All-Russian Public and Public Organisation "Russian Union of Women".
More than 22,500 tons of basic necessities, food and medicines have been prepared at the collection points.
Since March 2, 9,977.3 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 781 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 6 actions in Kherson region, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 197 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.
On April 9, 12 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Kharkov, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 338 tons of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed.