1. The humanitarian situation deteriorates rapidly
The humanitarian situation in a number of settlements controlled by official Kiev continues to deteriorate rapidly, while the most critical situation today is in Kharkov.
A curfew has been imposed in the city. Local residents, fearing provocations from the nationalists, are forced to hide in basements. Many houses do not have heat, light or gas, and utility services do not carry out restoration work. In hospitals, the civilian population is denied medical care, only the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) servicemen and territorial defence fighters are treated. Vital medicines are not available in pharmacies. Grocery stores work two to three hours a day, there are practically no customers in them, since many people simply ran out of money. The men who remain in the city do not leave their homes – they are afraid that they will be forcibly taken to territorial defence battalions. Only women and the elderly get out on the streets.
On the phone and in social networks, people try not to communicate and are careful in their statements, because the Special Service of Ukraine (SSU) conducts mass arrests of civilians. Only for the supposedly good attitude towards Russia, people are taken away and they do not return.
Nationalists continue to use the proven tactics of placing heavy military equipment in residential areas. The militants are guided by a direct order from Kiev – to use any property and equipment of the civilian population they need, to enter apartments and equip firing points in them, and at the slightest disagreement of the owners – to shoot them on the spot.
Residents of the city are blocked by neo-Nazis, are being held hostage by militants as a "human shield", they cannot leave through humanitarian corridors, and their private cars are subjected to small arms and mortar fire.
Terrorists from nationalist battalions have created so-called "flying death squads," which, in high-performance cars forcibly seized from civilians and converted into "bander-mobiles," drive around the city streets and randomly fire large-caliber machine guns at apartment buildings in order to intimidate civilians.
Immediate decisions aimed at stabilizing the humanitarian situation are required to save the residents of the city (see PPT slides attached separately).
Russia appeals to the leaders of the United Nations, OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations and urge them to use the authority and potential of these organizations to force the Kiev authorities to fulfill their humanitarian obligations not only in Kharkov, but also in other settlements of Ukraine.
Despite the indifference of the Kiev authorities to the fate of hundreds of thousands of peaceful compatriots, the Russian Federation continues purposeful and coordinated work to evacuate the local population and foreign citizens to safe areas, and also carries out a set of measures to provide humanitarian assistance to the population in the territories of Ukraine liberated from neo-Nazis.
Since March 4th, 2022, for these purposes, humanitarian corridors have been opened daily from 10:00AM by the Russian side in the Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol directions – one humanitarian corridor to the Russian Federation, and one more through the territories controlled by the Kiev authorities towards the western borders of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities for the current day additionally announced four more routes in the Zaporozhye direction.
Pursuing exclusively humane principles, despite the cruelty and cynicism of the Kiev authorities towards their citizens, categorically not allowing any attempts to evacuate to the Russian Federation, and solely to save the lives of civilians in all possible ways, Russia agreed to the proposals of the Ukrainian side without any additional conditions.
The Armed Forces of Russia, the formations of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics strictly observe the ceasefire on all routes, including those declared by the Ukrainian side.
In addition, the Russian Armed Forces, exclusively for humanitarian purposes, from 10:00AM on March 31st, 2022, declare a ceasefire and open an additional humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians and foreign citizens from Mariupol to Zaporozhye (with an intermediate point in Berdyansk). For the successful implementation of this humanitarian operation, it is proposed to conduct it with the direct participation of representatives of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
At the same time, Russia informed that at present the section of the route from Berdyansk to Mariupol is systematically exposed to the fire of the AFU units and nationalist battalions from mortars and heavy machine guns.
Russia demands that the Kiev authorities strictly fulfill the following conditions for the creation of a humanitarian corridor: guarantee unconditional observance of the ceasefire at the set time, notify the Russian side in writing by 06:00 on March 31, 2022, as well as representatives of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross; to ensure the safe movement of bus convoys along the agreed route, especially on the Berdyansk - Mariupol area, where there is a high intensity of actions by sabotage and reconnaissance groups of neo-Nazi militants, aimed at carrying out provocations against humanitarian convoys.
In turn, the Russian side undertakes to open a humanitarian corridor after receiving from the Ukrainian authorities an official written statement of readiness to fulfill the above conditions and confirmation by means of objective control of the situation, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, of the actual ceasefire.
Over the past day, without the participation of the Kiev authorities, 20,495 people were evacuated to Russia from dangerous areas of Ukraine, Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, of which 3,384 children, and in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 509,425 people have already been evacuated, of which 104,807 are children. 111,865 people have already been rescued from Mariupol, including 3,063 people over the past day.
62,382 units of personal vehicles crossed the state border of the Russian Federation, of which 2,534 units per day.
According to the results of daily monitoring of requests by citizens of Ukraine to the hotline of the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for humanitarian response in Ukraine to federal executive authorities, various public organizations, as well as to the subjects of the Russian Federation to their families, relatives and acquaintances living in Russia, it was established that a significant part of the population forcibly held by nationalists in Ukrainian cities, still seek any opportunity to evacuate to Russian territory.
Over the past day alone, 1,674 such requests have been received, and there are already 2,734,079 of them in the database with specific surnames and addresses already from 2,118 settlements in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian nationalists continue to hold hostage as a "human shield" over 4.5 million civilians in Kiev, Kharkov, Chernigov, Sumy, Mariupol and more than two dozen other large settlements, as well as 6,476 citizens from 19 foreign countries.
The Ukrainian Nazis destroyed about fifty churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate during a special operation of Russia. The Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Security Forces fire at religious institutions or equip military facilities in them. In addition, they are holding churchmen hostage. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is under very serious threat.
Donetsk lacks potable water: it is delivered only two hours per 24 hours. The reason: Ukrainian nationalist battalions destroyed water supply system, and by its continues shelling prevent to repair it.
2. Russian humanitarian aid is expanding
In the regions of the Russian Federation, more than 9.5 thousand temporary accommodation facilities continue to function normally. They are equipped with everything necessary, there are places for rest and hot meals. Individual work is carried out with arriving refugees, they are provided with qualified medical and psychological assistance.
There are enough buses at the checkpoints to transport people to their chosen places of residence or to temporary accommodation.
The federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations and patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid.
The largest contribution to the provision of assistance was made by:
EMERCOM of Russia, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, federal agency for state reserves, federal service for state registration, cadaster and cartography, federal agency for nationalities; the Republics of Buryatia and Tatarstan, the Arkhangelsk, Moscow, Tula, Voronezh, Krasnodar and Rostov regions; among political parties and non-commercial organizations - United Russia, all-Russian public movement People's Front, all-Russian public organization of veterans Battle Brotherhood, autonomous non-commercial organization of support of humanitarian programs Russian humanitarian mission, all-Russian public organization Boxing Federation of Russia, all-Russian public organization Union of Armenians of Russia and all-Russian public and state organization Union of Women of Russia.
Over 22.5 thousand tons of food, medicines and basic necessities have been prepared at the collection points.
Since March 2nd, the Russian Federation has already delivered 6,521.3 tons of humanitarian supplies to Ukraine, 703 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 19 in the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, Zaporozhye, Kiev, Chernigov, Kharkov and Kherson regions over the past day, during which 443 tons of basic necessities, food and medicines were transferred to the civilian population.
On March 30th, 2022, 14 humanitarian actions are being held in the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, Kiev and Kherson regions, during which 308 tons of basic necessities and food are being transferred to the population.
3. Commercial shipping lines are under threat
More than 60 foreign vessels continue to be blocked in Ukrainian ports. The threat of shelling and high mine danger created by official Kiev in its internal waters and territorial sea do not allow ships to safely go to the open sea. Kiev threatens them that they will be attacked if they leave Ukrainian sea ports.
Every day from 08:00 to 19:00 (Moscow time), the Russian Armed Forces open a humanitarian corridor, which is a safe lane in the south-west direction from the territorial sea of Ukraine, with a length of 80 and a width of 3 nautical miles.
At the same time, the Ukrainian side, as before, does not confirm the readiness to ensure the safety of the exit of foreign vessels to the assembly area and in every possible way avoids cooperation in resolving this issue.
Once again, Russia calls on the International Maritime Organization and the management of ship owner’s companies to influence official Kiev to take measures aimed at unblocking and ensuring the safety of the exit of foreign vessels from the ports of Ukraine.
There is still a threat of drifting of Ukrainian mines torn from their anchors along the coast of the Black Sea states. By now 10 of them are drifting in the Black Sea.
The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure civil navigation in the waters of the Black, Azov and Mediterranean Seas.
4. Situation at the battlefields
The units of the Russian Armed Forces, continuing their offensive, took complete control of Zolotaya Niva, crossed Kashlagach River and occupied an advantageous position.
The advance was 6 kilometers. Up to 60 Ukrainian nationalists, 2 tanks, 4 infantry fighting vehicles, 9 vehicles for various purposes were destroyed.
Units of the Lugansk People's Republic, having completed the mopping-up of Zhitlovka, have advanced 5 kilometers and are fighting with nationalists on the outskirts of Kremennaya.
On the evening of March 30, high-precision air-based cruise missiles destroyed large fuel bases in Dnepropetrovsk, Lisichansk, Chuguev and Novomoskovsk, from which fuel was supplied to the Ukrainian military grouping in Donbass.
During the day, operational-tactical and army aviation hit 52 military assets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Among them: 4 command posts, 1 S-300 anti-aircraft missile system south of Izyum and 1 Buk-M1 near Kurakhovo, 2 multiple launch rocket systems, 1 ammunition and missile-artillery weapons depot, 2 fuel depots and 38 strongholds and areas of military equipment concentration.
Russian air defence means shot down 18 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the area of Balakleya, Verbovoye, Verhnetoretskoe, Dokuchaevsk, Korolevka, Komarin, Opytnoe, Pavlovka, Repki, Chernigov, Chernobyl and Shchors, including 1 Bayraktar-TB2 near Bezymyannoe.
In total, from February 24th, 2022, 124 aircraft and 77 helicopters, 341 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,815 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 195 multiple launch rocket systems, 762 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,689 of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
