MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has established contact with almost all Russians before the start of their evacuation from the Gaza Strip, said Daniil Martynov, an advisor to the Russian Emergency Situations Minister.
"When we flew here on the orders of our president and on the instructions of the minister, from the get-go we did very serious, painstaking and extensive work to prepare for the evacuation," he said on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio.
According to the official, in addition to a large number of meetings with senior members of the security forces, civil defense forces and the ambassadors of all the countries involved, the ministry’s staff also found contacts and established communication with almost all Russians in the Gaza Strip.
"We created a so-called virtual map of Russians in Gaza. This is a unique case. It is the first time this has been done," he said.
Martynov said there is now an understanding of where the Russians currently are in the Gaza Strip, how many of them, how many families, and how many children they have with them. According to the official, it was very important to understand where Russian nationals were in the conditions of hostilities.
"When strikes are carried out, we understand where these strikes are carried out, and we see them on the map, overlay that on our map that shows where our compatriots are. <...> We immediately call to that area and ask how they are doing, what’s new, was anyone wounded? This helps a lot in our work," he said.
He added that the ministry’s psychologists also provide support to the Russians over the phone.
The work to evacuate Russians from the Gaza Strip has been conducted by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry together with Russian diplomats. The first group of 70 Russians passed the Rafah crossing into Egypt on November 12. A Russian Emergencies Ministry's Il-76 airplane carrying the second group of 98 Russians evacuated from the Gaza Strip landed at the Domodedovo airport overnight. According to Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov, about 100 Russians are expected to pass the Rafah crossing from Gaza on Wednesday.