Part of second Russian aid convoy completes Russian border checks: agencies
In August, Ukraine and its Western allies denounced the arrival of a first huge convoy that crossed the border without Kyiv’s permission.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said Russia wanted to send a second batch of aid to ease the plight of civilians caught up in four months of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military. But it has not been clear when this would take place.
“Russian customs officers and border guards have completed checks on a first batch of trucks,” a customs official told RI.
On Thursday, one of the drivers in the convoy told Reuters in the region of Rostov that they had been waiting a long time for permission to cross back into Ukraine.
“My feeling is we’ve been standing here for too long. Really, too long. We are fed up. We stand here doing nothing, but we need to help people, and we are still here,” said Alexei Rabin from Yaroslavl.
Russian authorities have said they are waiting for the International Committee of the Red Cross to inspect the cargo and for the Ukrainian authorities to grant the trucks permission to cross the border.
The first convoy of about 220 trucks rolled into Ukraine on Aug. 22 through a border crossing controlled by the rebels after days of waiting for clearance.
Moscow said the trucks had moved in without Kyiv’s consent because civilians in areas under siege from Ukrainian government troops were in urgent need of food, water and other supplies. Kyiv called the convoy a direct invasion, a stance echoed by NATO, the United States and European leaders.
Eastern Ukraine has been largely quiet in recent days after a ceasefire was agreed last week – part of a peace plan meant to end the five-month conflict that has killed more than 3,000 people and caused the sharpest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War.