MOSCOW, August 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a phone call with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Friday that Kiev's use of combat aircraft and heavy artillery against civilian population in eastern Ukraine was unacceptable.
“The Russian defense minister...stressed that the use of combat aviation and heavy artillery, including multiple-launch rocket systems and missiles against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region was unacceptable,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Shoigu described the situation in the Ukrainian conflict zone as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and notified Hagel of the problems encountered by the Russian humanitarian aid convoy en route to the population of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions caught in armed hostilities between Kiev-led forces and independence supporters, according to the statement.
The Russian minister also reiterated the urgent need for immediate ceasefire in the violence torn region and the establishment of safe corridors for deliveries of humanitarian aid and evacuation of civilians from the combat zone. He also expressed concerns about increased NATO and US military activity on the Russian border.
Earlier today, Russia's Foreign Ministry denied allegations about a Russian "incursion" into Ukraine and urged the European Union to stick to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and not to send weapons to Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Russia sent to Ukraine 280 trucks carrying about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid, including 400 tons of grain, 100 tons of sugar, 62 tons of infant food, 54 tons of medical supplies and medication, 12,000 sleeping bags and 69 mobile electrical generators.
