Russian Defence Ministry calls for assistance to overcome the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine

The Russian Ministry of Defence said there was created a task force on the humanitarian response to the situation in Ukraine. The main task is to provide humanitarian aid to the population of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Luhansk People’s Republic and Ukraine.

The Defence Ministry noted once again that the Russian Armed Forced weren’t using weapons against civilians. According to the ministry, nationalists are using the civilians as a human shield and impede civilians, including foreigners, from leaving Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and other cities. Great Britain, Italy, China, Poland, France, Japan and other countries have asked Russian for help to evacuate their citizens.

Here are the key takeaways on humanitarian aid:

• If the Ukrainian authorities are ready to create a humanitarian corridor, the Russian Armed Forces commit themselves to providing its safety.
• The Russian Armed Forces rely on prompt assistance of the UN, OSCE and human rights organisations when resolving humanitarian issues in Ukraine.
• Humanitarian convoys with food and the essentials were created to help Ukraine’s population.
• Russia offered to receive planes of other countries at its airfields to evacuate their citizens from Ukraine.
• No resident of Ukraine will stay without food, water and the essentials on the territories controlled by the Russian Armed Forces.
• International organisations and Ukraine must urgently provide humanitarian corridors so that all citizens who want to leave the country can do it.
• A humanitarian convoy from Crimea arrived in settlements in the south of Ukraine.

At the beginning of the special operation, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that the Russian Armed Forces weren’t launching missile, air or artillery strikes in Ukrainian cities: “High-precision weapons are disabling the military infrastructure, air defence facilities, military airfields, aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the ministry said. It noted that nothing threatened the civilians.

On 28 February, the Russian Ministry of Defence addressed the civilians of the Ukrainian capital claiming that they could leave the city along the Kyiv-Vasilkov highway, which is open and safe.

Realnoe Vremya is following the events. Read all the details in a special report of the online newspaper.