Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response (May 4, 2022)

The Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, in cooperation with the authorized federal executive authorities, continues to record numerous facts of the inhumane attitude of the Kiev authorities towards civilians, as well as the use of social infrastructure facilities by Ukrainian armed formations for military purposes:

in Kramatorsk, on the territory of schools No. 1, 3 and vocational school No. 39, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine placed military equipment, heavy weapons and equipped an ammunition depot, while the evacuation of residents from nearby houses was not carried out;

in Kharkov, in close proximity to densely populated residential areas, on the territory of an experimental cement and coke chemical plants, the AFU units placed D-30 howitzers and MLRS. There are a large number of tanks with toxic technical liquids at these plants. If the tanks are destroyed, chemicals will be released into the atmosphere, followed by contamination of the air, terrain and water sources, which will lead to mass poisoning of people. The fighters, knowing that only civilians will become victims of their cynical actions, purposefully provoke the Russian Armed Forces to return fire in order to hold Russian servicemen responsible for possible victims among the local population. 

We warn the so-called civilized West in advance that these and other similar provocations by the Ukrainian authorities about the alleged "Russian atrocities" are planned to be widely disseminated in the near future through Western media and on various Internet resources.

In addition, numerous facts of illegal appropriation of humanitarian aid by officials of military administrations of cities for its subsequent resale to the local population were recorded in the Zaporozhye region on the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. 

It is precisely because of such actions of the Kiev regime that international organizations are considering stopping the delivery of humanitarian goods, as the Romanian representation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Odessa region did earlier, where massive theft of humanitarian aid vital to civilians was also recorded.

All this, once again, demonstrates the true "face" of the Ukrainian authorities, openly expressing an inhumane attitude to the fate of the people of Ukraine and neglecting the norms of morality and international humanitarian law.

Despite all the difficulties and obstacles created by Kiev, over the past day, without the participation of the Ukrainian authorities, 10,617 people, including 1,421 children, were evacuated from dangerous areas of the Donetsk, Lugansk people's republics and Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation. Since the start of the special military operation, a total of 1,114,318 people, including 199,348 children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 144,759 units of personal motor transport, including 1,786 over the past day.

In the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, more than 9.5 thousand temporary accommodation facilities continue to operate, which are fully equipped with all necessary property, they provide places for rest and hot meals. 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 the required social benefits.

A significant part of the population forcibly held by radicals in Ukrainian cities is still looking for any opportunities for evacuation to Russia, as evidenced by numerous requests of citizens through various channels to official structures and public organizations of the Russian Federation. Over the past day, 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 received 198 requests from Ukrainian citizens 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, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions. In total, the database contains 2,754,562 such requests from 2,133 localities in Ukraine.

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, evade from interaction 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 Transport, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications, federal service for state registration, cadastre and cartography, federal agency for 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 Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Crimea and Tatarstan, Altai and Krasnodar territories, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Tula regions and the city of Moscow;

among political parties and non–profit organizations are United Russia, People's Front, Combat Brotherhood, Russian Humanitarian Mission, Union of Women of Russia, JSC Concern VKO Almaz-Antey, interregional public organization Federation of military tactical games.

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

Since March 2, 2022, the Russian Federation has already delivered 17,567.6 tons of basic necessities, food, medicines and medical products to Ukraine, 967 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 5 humanitarian actions in the Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Kherson regions over the past day, during which 195 were transferred to the civilian population tons of humanitarian aid.

On May 4, 2022, 4 humanitarian actions are held inDonetsk, Lugansk people's republics and the Kherson region, during which 169.4 tons of basic necessities and food are transferred to the population.