Humanitarian convoys in Ukraine to be allowed only if lists of vehicles, accompanying officials presented in advance - Russian Defense Ministry

MOSCOW. March 10 (Interfax) - Humanitarian convoys scheduled to leave a number of Ukrainian cities on March 11 will be allowed to pass through only if the lists of vehicles and accompanying officials are provided in advance, head of Russia's interagency headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine and head of the National Defense Control Center Mikhail Mizintsev said.

He said that each convoy will be checked for mobile phones and other communication devices as only employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross are allowed to have them, while other officials will have their devices taken away.

This is being done to rule out the possibility of intelligence gathering by Ukrainian Security Service officers, Mizintsev said.

"We warn the Ukrainian side that in the future humanitarian convoys will be allowed to pass through only after providing in advance the lists of vehicles and officials accompanying humanitarian convoys, including drivers, in the following form: number in order, vehicle make, registration number, full name, passport number, citizenship, for drivers - number of a driving license with the authorized categories of vehicles," Mizintsev said.

"In efforts to prevent provocations, the submission of these documents becomes mandatory starting on March 11, 2022," he said.

"We draw attention to the fact that in order to exclude intelligence gathering on the location of Russian Armed Forces units, each convoy will be checked for communication devices," he said.