Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
The BBC's Daniel Sandford said there is uncertainty over the fate of the convoy
Russian lorries taking aid to conflict-hit east Ukraine have started a second day of their journey.
The convoy of almost 300 vehicles stopped overnight in the southern city of Voronezh, and is due to arrive at the Ukraine border later on Wednesday.
Uncertainty remains about how the aid will be delivered, amid fears Russia could use the convoy as a pretext for military action in Ukraine.
Ukraine's interior minister said the aid would not be let into the country.
"Provocation by a cynical aggressor is not permissible on our territory," Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page (in Russian).
Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk described the Russian move as "boundless cynicism".
"First they deliver tanks, Grad [rocket launchers], terrorists and bandits..., and then they deliver water and salt," he said.
The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow says that whether these senior officials' positions mean the aid will not cross the border is not yet clear, but the picture is becoming more confused.
At least 1,500 have died since mid-April, when Ukraine sent troops against pro-Russia rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The fighting has displaced almost 300,000 people, many of whom have fled to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected in Crimea on Wednesday for a meeting with members of the Security Council.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March, a move which triggered the first round of Western sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine conditionsThe lorries, said to be carrying nearly 2,000 tonnes of aid, left the Moscow area bound for Luhansk on Tuesday morning.
Russian TV showed the cargo, including grain, baby food and medicine, which will go to civilians trapped by fighting in the area held by pro-Russia rebels.
The convoy spent the night in Voronezh, about 300km (185 miles) from the proposed border crossing point at Shebekino-Pletnyovka into Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
A day before Mr Avakov said the convoy would not be allowed in, Ukrainian officials set conditions for its entry.
Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said aid should pass through a government-controlled border post and be accompanied by Red Cross officials.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow had agreed to these conditions.
"We have received a note from the Ukrainian side with confirmation of their readiness to accept this aid," he said, quoted by Itar-Tass news agency.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
A Ukrainian refugee explains how she left her mother behind, sheltering in a basement, when she fled to Russia
Mr Lavrov added that a Ukrainian demand that the aid be transferred to other vehicles at the border had been dropped on the grounds of cost.
The lorries would continue on their journey with Ukrainian number plates, he added.
Western officials have expressed concerns that Russia is using humanitarian assistance as a pretext to put troops in eastern Ukraine.
Nato warned on Monday that the Russians were developing a "narrative and a pretext" for a military operation under the guise of aid.
On Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called on Russia to "state without undue delay the items they intend to supply" and respect the neutrality of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The ICRC has said it still needs more security guarantees and information about the aid convoy.
War in Ukraine: the human costCasualties: At least 1,543 people have been killed in the east since mid-April, including civilians, the military and members of the armed groups, the UN said on 8 August. Some 4,396 have been confirmed wounded, "but the real number is likely to be much higher". Ukraine said on 11 August that 468 of its soldiers had been killed. The rebels have reported losing at least 800 fighters.
Refugees: Nearly 300,000 people have been forced from their homes this year. More than 117,000 are displaced inside Ukraine, 87% of them from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while a further 168,000 have crossed into Russia. Source: UN refugee agency
Our correspondent says that such a theatrical move by the Russians, which involved painting lorries a bright white colour and driving them 800km, suggests the Russians are trying to make a point as much as send aid.
Many of the goods being supplied could be sourced much closer to eastern Ukraine, he says, but the Russians argue that the Ukrainian government has failed to look after the humanitarian needs of its people.
Ukraine has reported in recent days that Russia has massed 45,000 troops on its border.
Advances by Ukrainian troops in recent weeks have put pressure on the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, leaving the latter in particular virtually cut off.
However, reports on Wednesday said that 12 members of the ultranationalist group Right Sector, fighting on the side of the Ukrainian government, had been killed in an ambush near Donetsk. Several others were captured.
Are you, or your relatives in eastern Ukraine? Are you affected by events in this story? If you are willing to share your experiences and photos of the situation, email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject heading 'Ukraine crisis' and include your contact details if it is safe to do so.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Russian aid convoy pushes south
Dengan url
http://gemukesehatan.blogspot.com/2014/08/russian-aid-convoy-pushes-south.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Russian aid convoy pushes south
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Russian aid convoy pushes south
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar