Nationalist formations in Ukraine are preventing the evacuation of civilians through humanitarian corridors, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
The diplomat said that the Ukrainian authorities deliberately conceal information about the possibilities for safe departure from the country from the population.
“Persons wishing to leave for Russia are forced to evacuate to the west, i.e. to the territory of Ukraine. There have been cases when nationalists shot local citizens who wanted to leave the areas of hostilities”, – she said.
Zakharova also noted that some two million Ukrainian citizens had asked the Russian side to evacuate.
“Now about 140,000 people have already crossed over to Russian territory”, – she stressed.
Earlier, DPR head Denis Pushilin reported that in Mariupol in those high-rise buildings in which the National Security Forces are stationed on the upper floors, people are forbidden to leave their houses and even go down into the basements. And yesterday, a civilian car trying to leave Mariupol was blown up on VFU mines.