Russia has accused before the Security Council of the UN to “Ukrainian radicals and neo-Nazis” of taking civilians hostage in several Ukrainian cities and using them as “human shields”. This accusation comes one day after Red Cross denounced that the Mariúpol humanitarian corridor “was mined” and after the harsh images of bombings of civilians in the city of Irpin by Russian troops.
“The danger to civilians in Ukraine is not the Russian Army, which does not bomb civilian infrastructure, but Ukrainian radicals and neo-Nazis. who have taken hostage the population of several cities“, has assured the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasili Nebenzia, who has assured that “using civilians as ‘human shield’they are not allowed to leave the city, despite the presence of humanitarian corridors and the announcement of silence regimes by Russian units”.
In this sense, regarding the authorized humanitarian corridors, he has stressed that on their “side they were ready to provide comprehensive assistance to ensure safety during the evacuation of people”. According to Russian records, at least 200,000 civilians were trapped in Mariupol alone and held “at gunpoint by the Azov battalion,” according to Nebenzia, as reported by the Russian mission.
This Monday, Russian troops heavily shelled the city of Irpin, near Kiev. One of the humanitarian corridors agreed by Moscow with a ceasefire had been installed there. However, the bombs did not stop falling. Chilean journalist Jorge Said he was on a bus that was bombed by the Kremlin, and was able to record everything that happened. Ukrainian soldiers also appear in the footage trying to protect civilians, including children.
However, Russia denies this: “The radicals in Volnovakha they were ordered to hit with their knees those heading for the humanitarian corridors. Those who dared to leave Mariupol at their own risk they were shot by the nazis Ukrainians at checkpoints as they tried to leave the city,” Nebenzia detailed, adding that “the humanitarian situation in the cities is rapidly deteriorating and humanitarian workers ready to provide assistance cannot get there and prevent the catastrophe from developing in the city”.
Thus, he stated that “more than 168,000 people have been evacuated to Russia from the special military operation zones, of which 43,469 are children, including 5,550 in the last 24 hours, of which 740 are children”.
Nebenzia has highlighted that “the ukrainian side strongly refuses to cooperate regarding the evacuation of civilians from Kharkiv and Sumy. In this sense, he has remarked that “evacuation issues from other regions are also becoming politicized.” “It is clear to us that the Kiev regime tries to prevent the departure of civilians and foreign citizens to Russia in every possible way, for fear that, once released, people will tell the whole world the truth about the acts of Ukrainian radicals,” he stressed.
Ukraine accuses Russia of hostilities
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN Sergii Kislitsia has accused Russia for his part of “ignoring” and “cynically” the norms of Humanitarian Law during the hostilities in Ukraine. “They bombed warehouses with evacuation buses near Mariopol; they blew up the railway near Irpin in the Kiev region to prevent evacuation by train and destroyed the bridge on the way to Volnovakha. All of those mentioned were the main routes to evacuate civilians,” he detailed in his statement.
In this way, has described as “terrible” that Russian troops open fire on evacuees and evacuation vehicles, bomb the roads assigned to the humanitarian corridors, as well as block attempts by the Ukrainian authorities to open humanitarian corridors or deny international organizations access to the most affected places.
“The Russian Armed Forces continue to shell and missile attack Kiev, Mariupol, Volnovakha, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Kharkov and other cities, towns and villages. This prevents the safe departure of humanitarian convoys transporting Ukrainian and foreign citizens, as well as the delivery of medicines and food,” Kislitsia stressed.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN has recalled that Russia will be judged for having committed an alleged genocide and has demanded the country stop violating ceasefire agreements aimed at guaranteeing “quick, safe and unhindered passage” for civilians through humanitarian corridors.
“We also consider inappropriate any attempt by Moscow to force civiliansboth Ukrainian and foreign citizens, from the besieged cities to flee to the territory of Russia and Belarus, taking into account the high probability of provocations,” he said.
Source: Lasexta
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