MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it was ready to dispatch humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s turbulent eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, adding it hoped Kiev would take steps to guarantee its delivery.
“The Russian side is ready to provide to the mentioned regions [in Eastern Ukraine] the required assistance, and regarding this situation it was proposed to the Ukrainian side to take the necessary measures soon to ensure the prompt delivery of the Russian humanitarian aid to the conflict-hit regions,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.
The statement said that Russia had notified the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday of Moscow’s receipt of requests for humanitarian aid from organizations and citizens in the conflict zones.
On Tuesday, Donetsk People’s Governor Denis Pushilin released an online video message asking Russia to provide the besieged region with "any possible help," following a spike in hostilities around its capital city Donetsk.
The Kiev regime has bolstered its military presence in Donetsk and Luhansk, two breakaway regions in the country’s southeast, following a presidential vote last Sunday. The crackdown focused on Donetsk, where heavily armed troops have been battling since the beginning of the week to wrest control from local self-defense forces.
The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics in eastern Ukraine held referendums on self-determination on May 11, with over 90 percent of voters supporting greater autonomy. The two republics signed a treaty on May 24 to establish the Union of People’s Republics.
