PRESS RELEASE : Ukraine requests the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently assist in creating humanitarian corridors

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 March 2022.

During the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia, the parties reached an agreement on joint provision of humanitarian corridors. The Ukrainian state requests the International Committee of the Red Cross to take urgent action to organize humanitarian corridors and is ready to do everything necessary to evacuate the civilian population and deliver humanitarian goods.

Due to constant shelling by Russian troops, a number of Ukrainian towns and villages are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. Thousands of people are in urgent need of evacuation. These cities lack food, water, medicine, electricity and water.

Settlements in the areas of hostilities that require the creation of humanitarian corridors are located in Sumy region (Sumy, Shostka, Romny, Konotop, Okhtyrka), Chernihiv region (eastern and northern parts), Kharkiv region (all of the region except the south-eastern parts), Kyiv (Bucha, Irpin, Vyshhorod, Ivankiv, Vasylkiv, Borodyanka), Mykolaiv region (Bashtansky, Snihuriv, Bereznehuvatsky directions), Zaporizhzhia region (Tokmatsky, Berdyansk, Velykobilozersky directions), Kherson (Chaplynka, Kalanchak, Henichesky and Novokakhovsky directions), Luhansk and Donetsk regions (Volnovakha district, Mariupol district), etc.

“Ukraine has sent all the necessary requests to international organizations to create humanitarian corridors for the delivery of essentials and evacuation of civilians. Unfortunately, there has not been any consent of the Russian side so far. Today’s agreements on the results of the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia give us cautious hope that we will finally be able to help our citizens,” said Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, member of the Coordination Staff for Humanitarian Affairs and social issues.

“Elderly people, women and children do not receive medical care, babies are born in basements and the first thing they hear in their lives is the sound of explosions. Civilians lack food and drinking water, many of them are people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Bringing them to dehydration, exhaustion, and suffering from a lack of timely medical care in the 21st century is nothing but torture. We very much hope that the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr Peter Maurer will do everything to deploy work in the humanitarian corridors to save lives as soon as possible,” says Tetiana Lomakina, coordinator of actions on Humanitarian corridors from the Office of the President.

“During the 8 days of the war, 28 children were killed and 64 were wounded by the Russian occupiers. Maternity hospitals, kindergartens, schools were destroyed,” says the Adviser-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Children’s Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk. “Nearly one and a half million children are suffering from shelling in the affected areas and they are under siege now. Among them, there are orphans and children with disabilities who need immediate assistance”.

The Ukrainian side is ready to ensure the transportation of people and the delivery of humanitarian goods. The Ukrainian Armed Forces guarantee safe passage of the corridor. Ukraine is expecting this from the Russian side.