Russia Aid Convoy Won’t Be Allowed into Eastern Ukraine
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iStock/Thinkstock(KIEV, Ukraine) — An agreement to provide humanitarian aid to pro-Moscow supporters in eastern Ukraine appeared on the verge of collapse Tuesday as both Kiev and the International Committee of the Red Cross alleged that a 280-truck convoy on the way from Russia was not part of the deal.
The ICRC said that the convoy was not certified and there was no way of knowing what the trucks were carrying. Therefore, the convoy would not be allowed to cross the border into Ukraine.
The fear is that the convoy is actually some kind of subterfuge and that Russia will used the guise of humanitarian aid to conduct a full-scale invasion of eastern Ukraine.
Adding to the suspicions are the Russian troops near the border, which are estimated at anywhere between 20,000 and 45,000.
Russia is insistent that humanitarian aid is necessary since close to a million people have been displaced in the rebel stronghold regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
These areas have come under heavy fire from Ukraine’s military, which is seeking to return eastern Ukraine into its fold. It’s estimated that 1,100 people have died since rebels broke away from the central government last April.
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