Moscow - A convoy of Russian trucks carrying humanitarian supplies for the population of Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions has arrived in Russia's southern Rostov region, Oleg Voronov, deputy director of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's National Crisis Management Center, told.
“A convoy of 100 trucks reached the Rostov region without incident,” he said.
All drivers are feeling fine, and the trucks are in good condition, Voronov said.
The aid convoy is carrying around 1,000 tonnes of cargo, including construction materials, food, medication and other essential winter items to be distributed among residents of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
It is Russia’s fourth humanitarian aid convoy for Ukraine’s southeastern regions.
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.
On Oct. 28, the National Security and Defense Council said that Russia did not notify Ukraine of its intention to send another “humanitarian aid convoy” to Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
