Moscow-Sana
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that nationalist extremists in Ukraine are holding more than 6,900 foreigners from 16 countries and using them as human shields.
"More than 6,900 citizens of 16 foreign countries are still being held hostage by Ukrainian neo-Nazis and are being taken as human shields, as well as the crews of more than 50 foreign ships, trapped in seaports in violation of the law," the head of the Russian Center for National Defense Administration, General Mikhail Mezintsev, said in a statement today. international humanitarian.
Mezintsev revealed that the number of people who asked Russia to evacuate them from Ukraine to its territory exceeded 2.6 million, explaining that during the past 24 hours alone, 19,963 requests were registered from those wishing to evacuate them, and Russia had 2,638,989 requests with specific names and addresses from about 2,000 residential areas in Ukraine .
Mizintsev refuted the words of the Kyiv authorities about the absence of Ukrainians and foreign citizens wishing to travel to Russia, saying: The daily increase in the number of requests received through various communication channels from Ukrainians as well as from foreigners indicates the opposite of what the Ukrainian authorities have said in this regard.
Mizintsev warned that the humanitarian situation in Mariupol has become "more difficult" due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of people, including foreigners, detained by the nationalists who threaten them with physical violence and prevent them from leaving the city, stressing that the Ukrainian authorities have violated agreements on humanitarian corridors and still refuse to evacuate civilians to Russia, warning of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
The statement pointed out that civilians in Mariupol were subjected to intense fire in the direction of the humanitarian corridors, pointing out that the institutions of law enforcement and judicial systems in Ukraine are paralyzed and not performing their functions, and the courts have suspended their activities.
Earlier today, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the Russian military transported and delivered more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid to the residents of the liberated population centers in the Kharkov province of Ukraine.
Follow Sana's news on Telegram https://t.me/SyrianArabNewsAgency