MOSCOW (Sputnik) – All trucks from the Russian humanitarian aid convoy that has delivered aid to southeastern Ukraine (Donbas) have returned empty to Russia, a representative of the Russian Emergencies Ministry has announced.
"There were no disruptions in conducting this humanitarian mission. All cargo was delivered to the recipients and was unloaded at storage sites. All vehicles, having passed border and customs control, returned empty to the [Russian] Rostov Region," Oleg Voronov, deputy chief of the crisis management centre with the Russian Emergencies Ministry said late on Friday.
The previous convoy that Russia sent to Donbas on March 7 brought some 200 tons of food and medicine to those who have suffered as a result of an explosion at the Zasyadko mine, located in Donetsk. The accident killed 33 people on March 4.
Overall, the Russian Emergencies Ministry has delivered over 24,000 tons of aid to Donbas since last August. The region has been on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe because of the special military operation that Kiev launched in Donbas in April, 2014. The fighting between Kiev forces and local independence supporters has caused severe damage to local infrastructure.
Russia plans to send another humanitarian aid convoy to Donbas on March 15.
