Updated 1:28 p.m. Moscow time
MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) – A second convoy loaded with humanitarian cargo for southeastern Ukraine has been stationed in the southern Russian city of Donetsk, Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Vladimir Stepanov said Thursday.
"The humanitarian cargo is in the Rostov Region city of Donetsk. It contains food and other necessities, including water purifiers and electricity generators," he said.
The first convoy of 280 trucks carrying Russian humanitarian aid was sent to eastern Ukraine in late August and entered the country's territory through a checkpoint controlled by independence forces after more than a week waiting at the border.
Ukraine had deliberately delayed the aid delivery. Russia condemned the move and the trucks crossed the border although some procedures had not been completed, prompting a negative reaction of Kiev and the West.
Residents of the conflict-ravaged Luhansk, who had been living for several weeks on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, greeted the Russian aid. The crisis in Luhansk increased after the government troops blocked the eastern Ukrainian city. Food supplies to the city were cut and the citizens were left without drinking water.
On September 4, Russian Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Artamonov said that almost 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid are ready to be sent with the second humanitarian convoy to southeastern Ukraine.
Last week, the participants of the Minsk talks on the Ukrainian crisis settlement agreed to organize two more humanitarian convoys from Russia to eastern Ukraine. According to the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, the first batch will be sent by road and the second one by rail.
