MOSCOW, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - The third Russian humanitarian aid convoy has moved along Ukrainian territory, RIA Novosti reported on Saturday.
Some 30 trucks of the Russian humanitarian convoy have crossed the border with Ukraine at a checkpoint in the Rostov Region, where trucks have previously gone through customs control. The Russian side has repeatedly invited Ukrainian customs officials and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to inspect the cargo, but was turned down without explanation.
The third Russian humanitarian convoy consists of some 200 trucks containing water, food, and generators. Emphasis has been placed on medicine.
The first trucks of the third Russian humanitarian convoy started entering a customs clearance zone on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine on Friday.
The first convoy of 280 trucks, carrying Russian humanitarian aid, was sent to eastern Ukraine in late August and entered the country through a checkpoint controlled by independence supporters after spending more than a week at the border.
The second Russian humanitarian convoy was made up of 220 trucks, carrying about 1,800 tons of food, medicine, water purification equipment and power generators. It arrived in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk last weekend and promptly returned to Russia afterwards.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has demanded Russia stop sending convoys with humanitarian aid to southeastern Ukraine, calling them "provocations."
