Russian interagency HQ accuses Ukrainian authorities of disrupting evacuation from Mariupol

MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - Russia has met all the conditions for evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, the authorities of Ukraine are responsible for the disruption of this operation, the interagency coordination headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine said on Sunday.

"We are forced to state that the Ukrainian side has failed to comply with the obligations it assumed," it said.

Russia once again attempted to evacuate civilians from Mariupol as part of a humanitarian operation on Sunday, the routes, time and meeting location of the humanitarian convoy was thoroughly elaborated and agreed on with the Ukrainian side, the headquarters said.

"Russia fulfilled all the obligations to create the humanitarian corridor," it said.

"We established on the basis of the findings of objective monitoring, including using unmanned aerial vehicles, that no humanitarian convoys were formed in Mariupol," the headquarters said.

It described statements of the Ukrainian authorities that evacuation from Mariupol was postponed because Russia allegedly did not observe the regime of quit as "utter deception."

"At the same time, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the positions of the Russian Armed Forces at the time allotted for the passage of the humanitarian convoy," it said.

"Thus far, the Ukrainian side has strongly denied any interaction about evacuation of a large quantity of people from Kharkiv and Sumy, where thousands of civilians, including foreign citizens, are being detained," it said.

Nationalist units hinder evacuation of civilians from Ukrainian cities, it said.

"Using civilians as a human shield, they are placing heavy weapons in apartment blocks, while holding part of civilians to stay in the buildings against their will," the Russian headquarters said.