MOSCOW, August 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Pentagon said that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has promised there would be no soldiers assigned to the humanitarian convoy headed to Ukraine, according to Agence France-Presse.
“Minister Shoigu 'guaranteed' that there were no Russian military personnel involved in the humanitarian convoy, nor was the convoy to be used as a pretext to further intervene in Ukraine,” AFP cited the Pentagon’s statement.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry denied allegations of Russian incursion into eastern Ukraine, dismissing these claims as groundless and not worth discussing. Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Ukrainian artillery destroyed a Russian armored column that crossed into Ukraine at night.
Russia sent a humanitarian convoy to eastern Ukraine comprised of 280 trucks carrying about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid that includes 62 tons of baby food, 54 tons of medication, 100 tons of sugar, 400 tons of grain and 12,000 sleeping bags, among other necessities.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the convoy had encountered problems on the way to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, currently caught in armed hostilities between the Kiev-backed forces and the independence supporters of eastern Ukraine. Russia called on the warring sides to cease fire to ensure safe deliveries of humanitarian aid.
