The corridors set up by Vladimir Putin seem to be "humanitarian" only in name.

The Kremlin announced Monday, March 7, the establishment of local ceasefires and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Kiev, Mariupol and Sumy, plagued by violent fights.

But on the fourteenth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these routes supposed to guarantee the peaceful transport of civilians remain little or not used.

At the same time, however, the number of refugees exceeded two million on Tuesday, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Several reasons explain this situation.

>> To read also, on Les Observateurs de France 24: "War in Ukraine: how the Russian army maneuvers to encircle Kiev"

First of all, there is a great distrust of the populations vis-à-vis these corridors.

"It is not surprising that civilian populations who have been the object of serious crimes by the Russian armed forces, in particular by being the target of bombardments, do not have confidence in these same forces and abandon these corridors for roads that 'they consider it more secure", explains Tchérina Jerolon, head of the conflict, migration and justice program at Amnesty International France, contacted by France 24. Since the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, the non-governmental organization (NGO ) has in fact identified a series of actions – supporting documents – relating to war crimes, in particular the bombardments which targeted civilian populations.

[HEADLINE 12H] New attempt to set up humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, in particular in Sumy, where a bombardment killed 21 people yesterday, according to the Ukrainian authorities, who accuse Moscow of not respecting the humanitarian corridor of Mariupol #AFP 1/5 pic.twitter.com/MG9JS4ULOt

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) March 8, 2022

"It's purely demonic"

The establishment of humanitarian corridors in the context of armed conflicts must be the subject of an agreement between the parties which each must then respect, recalls the humanitarian official.

“There is nothing legal, abounds Jean-Hervé Bradol, doctor and director of studies at the MSF Foundation, contacted by France 24. In fact, these humanitarian corridors or 'humanitarian corridors' are passages which must allow to evacuate civilians from conflict zones. They also make it possible to transport goods, such as humanitarian aid - food, medicine - which are currently lacking in Ukraine."

However, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has accused the Russians of not respecting these axes of peaceful evacuation.

Kiev notably denounced the blocking of 300,000 civilians in the strategic port of Mariupol, located in the south-east of the country, on the Sea of ​​Azov.

“The enemy launched an attack exactly in the direction of the humanitarian corridor,” assured the ministry on its Facebook page.

"Ceasefire violation!" Tweeted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

“The perversion of it all is mind-boggling,” commented Michael Carpenter, US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

This weekend, "Russia agreed to open a humanitarian corridor from Volnovakha and Mariupol,

but then shelled the evacuation route, just as civilians were fleeing.

It's purely demonic."

Asked about the humanitarian corridors, Emmanuel Macron denounces a "hypocritical speech which consists of saying 'We are going to protect people to take them to #Russia'."



"All this is not serious. It is cynicism, moral and political."

(via @TF1Info)pic.twitter.com/oH73ejG75G

— Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) March 7, 2022

"A blank check to pound the cities"

Another tacit rule: a humanitarian corridor must allow civilians to take a route to a territory where they will be safe.

But two-thirds of the corridors traced by Russian forces lead to Russia or Belarus, its ally.

Consequences: the Ukrainian authorities refused the evacuation of their nationals, fearing to see them placed under the Russian yoke.

Incidentally, these corridors designed by Moscow have provoked the ire of the Elysée.

Because Vladimir Putin explained responding to a "personal request" from Emmanuel Macron to justify his device.

"All this is not serious, it is moral and political cynicism, which is unbearable to me", immediately retorted the French president, formally denying the Kremlin's allegations.

The NGOs also point out that evacuation corridors should not be restrictive.

“Civilians who do not wish to leave the area for personal reasons or because they are unable to do so have the right to stay,” explains Tcherina Jerolon.

This is why civilian infrastructures such as hospitals, schools and nurseries, or residential areas, can in no case be targeted by the military.

"However, it happens that the establishment of corridors on the contrary gives a blank check to the attackers to pound a city more."

Jean-Hervé Bradol goes even further: "Since the assailant gave civilians the possibility of fleeing, a humanitarian corridor can quickly turn into a license for war crimes."

#Ukraine While the opening of a humanitarian corridor was announced for the besieged city of #Marioupol, Sacha Ukrainian employee of #MSF who lives there testifies: “there is no electricity or fuel in town.

At home, I just have the gas”.

(1/3) pic.twitter.com/ntXPwh5agq

— MSF France (@MSF_france) March 7, 2022

Moscow's objective: to wear down the morale of civilians

Finally, a psychological aspect must be addressed.

The doubt that persists around the securing of humanitarian corridors, sometimes passable, sometimes bombarded, can ultimately get on the nerves of civilian populations and cause internal divisions.

At least that's what Syrian opponents denounced during Russian interventions in the Aleppo region in 2014.

For observers of armed conflicts, this is indeed not the first time that Russia flouts the rules in the humanitarian field.

"Whether in Chechnya, in 1994 and 1999, or in Ukraine, in the Donbass, in 2014, or more recently in Syria in 2016, the Russian forces have always used the same modus operandi: the non-respect of humanitarian corridors or the use of non-precision weapons, such as cluster bombs, sums up Tcherina Jerolon. The Russian strategy put in place in recent days once again illustrates Vladimir Putin's lack of consideration for civilian populations.

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