KIEV, November 3 (RIA Novosti) — Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council is unaware of the contents of the fifth Russian humanitarian aid convoy, which delivered building materials, food, fuel and medications to Donetsk and Luhansk on Sunday, Council’s spokesperson Andriy Lysenko stated Monday.
"It [the convoy] illegally crossed the border of Ukraine, the content [of it] is unknown and we don't have accurate data on this convoy," Lysenko said at a briefing.
On Sunday, a 100-truck Russian aid convoy cleared customs checks at the Donetsk-Izvarino border crossing and later split into two groups that headed to Luhansk and Donetsk, two stricken Ukrainian cities in the east.
In April, Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation in the country’s southeast, where independence supporters refused to accept the new government that was put in power following a coup in February.
The military actions brought about a severe humanitarian crisis in Donbas. The local residents were left without food, drinking water and electricity since the infrastructure was systematically destroyed in the ongoing fighting between the pro-Kiev forces and militias.
Russia has been sending aid convoys to Donbas since August. They have delivered food, water, power generators, medication and warm clothes to help the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions replenish their stocks ahead of the coming winter.
