MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – The People’s Front of Donbass has called for humanitarian aid deliveries to eastern Ukraine, where special forces loyal to Kiev are conducting an operation to crack down on federalists.
The civic movement, People’s Front of Donbass, was established on May 24 at the session of representatives of southeastern regions with the goal of defending civilians, fighting against social problems and reinforcing ties with Russia.
Besides direct military actions against the citizens of Donbass, Ukraine's industrial heartland, the security forces are destroying local infrastructure, blockading territories and disturbing the deliveries of medical supplies and essential products to civilians, the organization said.
“The whole Southeast should unite around the fighting Donbass! We need people, we need humanitarian aid and need public support from all the anti-fascist organizations,” the statement said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry notified Ukraine on Wednesday that it was ready to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to eastern regions. The Ukrainian side was requested to take all the measures needed for safe transportation of the Russian humanitarian cargo.
Earlier Friday, the ministry said in a statement Moscow is surprised by Kiev’s rejection of proposed Russian aid to violence-hit eastern Ukraine and hopes that the interim government will reconsider its decision.
In response to growing tensions in Ukraine’s eastern regions, the interim Ukrainian government announced the beginning of a special operation to crack down on the protesters in mid-April. The operation that allowed for the use of military force against civilians led to dozens of deaths and injuries. Moscow has described the operation as a punitive act.
