Ukrainian serviceman. File photoMOSCOW, April 3In accordance with the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a decision was made to help evacuate foreigners held hostage by militants of the National Battalion in Mariupol, said Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's interdepartmental coordinating headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine, head of the National Defense Control Center.
"In accordance with the request of the President of the Republic of Turkey to the President of the Russian Federation Putin, it was decided to provide full assistance in the evacuation of citizens of foreign states held hostage by the remaining militants of the nationalist battalions in certain areas of Mariupol", — said the general.He clarified that in order to conduct a humanitarian operation from 00.00 Moscow time on April 3, the Armed Forces open a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Berdyansk and guarantee strict observance of the “silence regime” on the route of movement. Foreign citizens can be evacuated from Berdyansk along any humanitarian route: by land transport to Crimea or to the territories controlled by the Kiev regime, as well as by sea transport. At the same time, Russia is ready to ensure the entry and exit of ships for evacuation to the port of Berdyansk.Humanitarian convoys could not arrive in Mariupol on time due to the ICRC»Humanitarian operations are possible only with the full assistance of the Kiev authorities to let the humanitarian convoy out of Mariupol, strictly observe the «silence regime» during the evacuation, and also eliminate the threat of shelling ships when leaving port and along the entire crossing route,» the head of the NCUO emphasized. According to him, the Russian side appeals to all international organizations, including the ICRC, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in order to oblige the Kiev authorities to notify in writing before 3.00 Moscow time on April 3 about preparedness for the evacuation of the interdepartmental coordinating headquarters of Russia for humanitarian response in Ukraine, the Turkish side, the ICRC and the UNHCR.The Ministry of Defense showed footage of the destruction of the defense headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by an Iskander strike. When the DPR was proclaimed in 2014, Mariupol, with a population of about 450 thousand people, was the second largest city in the republic after Donetsk. However, in June of the same year, the Ukrainian security forces regained control over him. On March 7, 2022, Alexander Semyonov, deputy commander of the Vostok battalion of the DPR, said that the city was surrounded, and a cleansing of certain areas had begun. Among other Ukrainian units in Mariupol is the nationalist regiment «Azov» *. On February 24, Russian units launched a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» According to the Ministry of Defense, the armed forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, and by March 25 they had completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal of the operation in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.* A criminal case was opened against the fighters of the battalion in Russia.