Russian Ministry of Defence claims that humanitarian corridors are staying closed due to so-called “nationalists”

Roman Kravets - Saturday, 5 March 2022, 13:56

The Russian Ministry of Defence states that no one is arriving at the open humanitarian corridors in Mariupol and Volnovakha because "nationalists are holding the civilians back".

Source: Message of the Russian Ministry of Defence, as cited by the Russian international information agency RIA Novosti.

Details: The Russians argue that Ukrainian troops are taking advantage of the ceasefire to regroup at their defence positions.

Quote from the Russian Defence Ministry: "Despite the grave consequences of the failure of today’s humanitarian operation, we are still prepared to collaborate patiently and persistently with Ukraine’s officials as well as international organisations to quickly solve the humanitarian crisis".

Prior to this: The minister responsible for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories, Iryna Vereshchuk,  announced that the Russian army is continuing to shell the evacuation routes from Mariupol and Volnovakha. She called on Russia to uphold the agreements.

Ukraine also appeals to Russia for a chance to transport humanitarian supplies of food, medicine and other things from the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.