By Ukrayinska Pravda
08.11.2014
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

Image Source: Ilya Naymushin | Reuters
Employees of a small private company sort items to be distributed to victims of the crisis in eastern Ukraine at a collection point in Krasnoyarsk, July 3, 2014. The humanitarian aid is being collected in cooperation with the regional office of the Russian Red Cross.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was sending a “humanitarian convoy” to Ukraine.

He stated this in a telephone conversation with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the Kremlin press service reports.

Putin emphasized the “catastrophic consequences of the military operation conducted by the Ukrainian authorities in southeastern Ukraine and the need for urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance into the zone of conflict.”

“It is noted that the Russian side, in cooperation with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, is sending a humanitarian convoy to Ukraine,” said the statement.

Putin and Barroso also discussed some issues of cooperation between Russia and the EU “in the context of Ukraine’s signing of an Association Agreement with the EU and the measures adopted by Russia in response to Western sanctions.”

As is well-known, [Petro] Poroshenko earlier announced that Russia was trying to invade Ukraine under the guise of a humanitarian mission, ostensibly under the auspices of the Red Cross, which immediately denied [its participation] in such a mission.

The UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union announce that international organizations should provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and not Russia.

In turn, the MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] of Ukraine urged Russia to refrain from any attempts to send humanitarian cargo to Ukraine without complying with the necessary conditions.

Source: Pravda.com.ua