Vira Perun, News Author
"Russia wants to use the channels of humanitarian corridors in Russia and Belarus to regroup its troops and bring reserve troops closer. Ukraine understands this and rejects possible manipulations," said Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk.
According to the press service of the agency, Ukraine will continue negotiations on the opening of humanitarian corridors.
"There can be no negotiations between the armies. But humanitarian corridors must be negotiated. As for now, we can not open them. However, we have already involved the world community, the International Committee of the Red Cross has become more active, the UN mission has joined us as well. We see personal appeals like the one made by French President Macron to Putin, "Vereshchuk said.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the evacuation of Ukrainians can take place only within Ukrainian territory.
Vereshchuk said that the situation in areas where the population needs to be evacuated remains critical; the occupiers do not follow agreements on humanitarian corridors.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the situation is challenging in Mariupol - the city is practically cut off from the rest of the country. Recently, the aggressor fired on a convoy of 8 trucks with medicines and food and 30 buses to evacuate people.
On 7 March 2022, in operational summary, the General Staff reported that "occupiers break rules of the international humanitarian law. They conduct attacks on the civilian population and humanitarian "green" corridors, take women and children as hostages, place military vehicles, equipment and ammunition in residential parts of cities, and artificially create a humanitarian crisis."