Kyiv authorities prohibiting contacts with Russia on organization of humanitarian corridors - Russian Defense Ministry

MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian administration is refusing humanitarian corridors in Russia's direction and is prohibiting local authorities from having contacts with the Russian side, Russian National Defense Control Center Mikhail Mizintsev said.

"The Kyiv authorities have prohibited the mayors of the cities from having any contacts with the Russian side, including with regard to the organization of humanitarian corridors," Mizintsev told a briefing on Friday.

"Officials in Kyiv still continue categorically refusing humanitarian corridors in the direction of Russia, saying there are just no civilians and foreign citizens who wish to go to the Russian Federation," he said.

However, Mizintsev said he has information that 23,127 people expressed a wish to evacuate to Russia in the past 24 hours and in total, more than 2.619 million people in almost 2,000 populated areas of Ukraine have said so.