Russia puts forward new requirements for humanitarian convoys

Kateryna Tyschenko – Thursday, 10 March 2022, 23:38

Russia put forward new requirements for humanitarian convoys from the cities of Ukraine. From 11 March, Ukraine will have to submit, ahead of time, the names of officials travelling with the convoy; their mobile phones will also have to be confiscated. This will apply to all officials accompanying the convoys, except for Red Cross representatives.

Source: Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian interdepartmental headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine and head of the National Defence Management Centre of the Russian Federation, cited in Interfax.

According to Mizintsev: "We warn the Ukrainian side that from now on, humanitarian convoys will be allowed to leave only after the lists of automobile transport and officials (including drivers) accompanying the convoy have been submitted in advance. The lists have to adhere to the following format: number, vehicle make, registration number, first name, surname, and patronymic, passport number, and citizenship. Additionally, for drivers: driving licence number indicating the permitted category of vehicle.

We emphasise that each convoy will be inspected for the presence of means of communication in order to prevent the gathering of intelligence about the location of the Russian Armed Forces units.

Only representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross are allowed to carry mobile phones and other means of communication with them. The rest of the accompanying officials are prohibited from using any kind of technical means of communication. If the latter are detected, the official will be removed from the convoy."

Details: Russia once again promises that on Friday it will announce a ceasefire to enable humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol to operate.

According to Mizintsev, the Russian Federation is offering an opportunity to leave these cities and go to Russia as well as to other Ukrainian cities (Sumy to Poltava, Kharkiv – by agreement – to Lviv, Uzhhorod, and Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernihiv in the southern direction, upon agreement with the Ukrainian side.)

Background: Earlier, Mizintsev announced, without agreeing with Kyiv, that humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from Ukraine to Russia will be open every day from 10:00.

Earlier:

• The occupiers continue to disrupt agreed-upon evacuations, in particular from Bucha in the Kyiv region and from Mariupol.
• Due to constant shelling, not a single person has been evacuated via the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, and no humanitarian aid could reach the city of Mariupol.
• On 9 March, the occupiers also prevented the organised evacuation of the residents of Hostomel, Bucha, and Bordyanka. As a result, some locals were forced to risk their lives in order to travel from Bucha to Irpin and evacuate with a convoy of Irpin residents. On 10 March, over 2,000 local residents – and a nursing home – were finally evacuated from Bucha.