"Ukraine never supplied phosphorus munitions to Azerbaijan" – Davit Mkrtchyan

Fifteen Armenians have been killed in the war in Ukraine so far according to Davit Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine (UAU).

Mkrtchyan told Hetq that five were serving in the Ukrainian army and ten were civilians. He said 350,000 Armenians lived in Ukraine before the war started.

"People are fleeing their houses and apartments, going to state shelters and trying to get first aid there. I am talking about the cities of eastern Ukraine, Mariupol and Volnovakha, which is almost flattened, Kharkov, where the bombing is happening day and night, Chernigov is being shelled," Mkrtchyan said.

The situation is especially difficult in three cities: Mariupol, Kharkov and Kyiv.

Electricity in Mariupol, where ten thousand Armenians live, has been cut off since March 4. The city has been cut off from the rest of the country.

Mkrtchyan says his organization is unable to contact Armenians there due to the lack of electricity and the inaccessibility of telephones. It gets information from there from Armenians who have fled the city via humanitarian "green corridors"  

He said the "green corridors" are not safe either. Buses evacuating people are bombed.  

"We have connections in all other cities where there is electricity. We know the situation. There are cities that are encircled, and we can’t provide help. For example, we have not been able to deliver humanitarian aid to Kherson for some weeks. The Russian side has stated several times that they are taking aid from Crimea to Kherson, but I have no information whether the Armenians are using it or not," said Mkrtchyan.

 Civilians are being shelled in Kyiv. There are casualties, devastated neighborhoods, entertainment and shopping malls.

"If this continues, unfortunately, Kyiv may turn into a second Kharkov or Mariupol, which I do not want to believe," said Mkrtchyan.

Davit Mkrtchyan

He told Hetq that the UAU has distributed more than 300 tons of humanitarian aid since the start of the war.

"It is almost impossible to get aid to the occupied cities. Those without cars or gas must depend on evacuation buses. We cannot help Kherson. Our outreach is becoming more limited because the occupied cities are behind the lines. They (Russian forces - ed.) are advancing,” said Mkrtchyan.

While he initially believed the war would soon end, Mkrtchyan sees no quick end in sight.

The flow of people fleeing Ukraine continues. The UAU appealed to Ukrainian border guards about the number of Armenians leaving the country. But since the flow of people is large and in different directions, they cannot get any data about Armenians.  

"I want people to understand that we’re not doing what’s possible, but the impossible. Our Armenian youth are so active under the bombing that it is fantastic. They risk their lives to help those in need. You must see it,” says Davit Mkrtchyan.

He says that people in Armenia tend to be against the Ukrainians, forgetting that the country is the home third or fourth largest Armenian community.

“They say Ukraine supplied phosphorus bombs to Azerbaijan and is now getting its just rewards. I have said, a million times, that Ukraine never shipped phosphorus munitions to Azerbaijan. Let’s have a bit of respect and not forget that when Armenia was at war the UAU opened offices and organized a large amount of aid to Armenia,” Mkrtchyan said.

P.S. Hetq contacted Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine, Vladimir Karapetyan, requesting an interview, The ambassador said he’d been willing to do so but first needed to get permission from the Armenian Foreign Ministry. Ministry Spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Hetq he’d get back to us after reviewing the expediency of such an interview. We’re waiting for the ministry’s decision.