Russia warns the UN, the OSCE and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about possible crimes with grave consequences for civilians in Mariupol and attempts to point the finger of blame at Russia, the chief of Russia’s National Defense Command Center, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, said on Friday, TASS reports.
“From the platform of the Russian Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response we are warning the whole civilized world, international organizations, and first of all the UN, the OSCE and the ICRC - you should expect new crimes with grave consequences for civilians and further attempts to blame it on indiscriminate strikes by the Russian Armed Forces from these notorious bandits who have entrenched themselves in Mariupol, maddened by hopelessness and the absence of any prospects for the future,” Mizintsev said.
Over 13,700 people were evacuated from Mariupol in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of evacuees to more than 56,700, Mizintsev said.
The Russian defense official also said that despite serious difficulties, the Russian Armed Forces managed to ensure the operation of humanitarian corridors in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkov and Zhitomir, declared by Ukraine. A total of 3,399 people managed to flee various localities in the area using buses and personal vehicles.