The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has direct contacts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation regarding the organization of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, president of the organization Peter Maurer said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency and the Ukraine 24 TV Channel.

"From the Russian side, we communicate with the Ministry of Defense, and it provided us with contacts of high-ranking officers who are responsible for actions in Ukraine," Maurer said.

Asked by the agency about how effective such contacts are and whether it was possible to open this or that humanitarian corridor thanks to them, the interlocutor noted that he "definitely saw positive steps."

"I would like to note that this work is indispensable. The Red Cross communicates directly with the Russian and Ukrainian sides. And in this direction, I definitely saw positive steps. And in more direct contacts between Ukraine and Russia. For example, you saw a major evacuation operation from Sumy. This is an important signal that the work is producing results, but nevertheless, I must admit that it does not always work and that there is still a lot of work to be done to get results," he said.

At the same time, Maurer specified that cooperation with the Russian Red Cross concerns only issues of assistance to refugees on the territory of the Russian Federation.

"We are working with the Russian Red Cross on issues of assistance to refugees on the territory of the Russian Federation. So far there has not been a need to provide them with significant support. We are in constant contact, and if the need arises, we will provide support, but at the moment our priority is to strengthen our activities on the territory of Ukraine," the president of the humanitarian organization stressed.