All the trucks of Russia's third 'humanitarian convoy' have left the territory of Ukraine, State Fiscal Service deputy head for customs operations Anatoliy Makarenko said.
“We’ve got the information that all the trucks of the so-called third humanitarian convoy have left the territory of Ukraine. Let me stress once again: humanitarian cargo, according to our regulations, is the one that has undergone all procedures of customs registration by the Ukrainian customs agencies,” he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Oct. 7.
Entering Ukraine’s territory bypassing customs checkpoints and avoiding customs clearance is equal to “shelling with Grad multiple rocket launchers,” he said.
As was reported, Russia’s first motorcade composed of 262 KAMAZ trucks carrying humanitarian aid, according to Russian officials, arrived in Luhansk on Aug. 22. Ukrainian border guards and customs officers cleared a mere 34 of those trucks, as they stayed blocked in the Russian-based Donetsk checkpoint. The convoy had left for Luhansk without officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) accompanying it, which is a breach of the arrangements with the Ukrainian government.
A second convoy, consisting of 220 vehicles, arrived in Luhansk on Sept. 13. Ukrainian border guards and customs officers were not allowed to check and clear the vehicles and the shipment and representatives of the Red Cross didn’t escort the convoy.
A third so-called humanitarian convoy arrived in Donetsk on Sept. 20. The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council noted that it had no information on the contents of that ‘humanitarian convoy.’ Ukrainian border guards and customs officers, as well as ICRC representatives, were not allowed to check the contents of the trucks.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry then sent an official note to the Russian Federation to protest the illegal actions against Ukraine, flagrant violations of the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
On Sept. 25, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the Russian convoy was not humanitarian, it was an incursion into the territory of Ukraine. “Russia’s convoy is far from humanitarian. We consider it an incursion into the territory of Ukraine, and this is part of the actions we have to put an end to,” he said.
Russia plans to send a fourth convoy to the east of Ukraine soon, however, the exact dates haven’t been announced yet.
