MOSCOW (Sputnik) – An extra convoy with humanitarian aid for war-hit eastern Ukraine set out Saturday night from western Russia, Oleg Voronov, deputy chief of the crisis management centre with the Russian Emergencies Ministry, said early Sunday.
"An extraordinary convoy with humanitarian cargo left the Don crisis management centre of the Emergencies Ministry at 4:00 a.m. Moscow time (1:00 GMT). It consists of more than 80 trucks that will bring over 700 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the Russian official said.
The official explained that an additional convoy was agreed on to help east Ukrainian farmers gear up for the year's first planting season. Another convoy carrying grain arrived in eastern Ukraine on Friday. It delivered more than 250 tonnes of aid, including seeds, foodstuff, and building materials.
This comes a week after Russia delivered 200 tonnes of aid – mostly food and medicine – to families of Ukrainian miners who suffered as a result of an explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine earlier this year.
Overall, the Russian Emergencies Ministry has delivered over 24,000 tonnes 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.
