Updated 1:11 p.m. Moscow Time
LUHANSK, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – The date of a new Russian humanitarian aid delivery to eastern Ukraine will be set within the next two or three days, the leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, told journalists Friday.
"The exact date isn't known, but I think it will be soon. They're ready, but the dates need to be agreed, it doesn't just depend on the [Russian] Emergencies Ministry," Plotnitsky said.
"I think the date [for delivering] humanitarian aid will be known in the next two or three days, or even earlier," he added.
Russia has previously sent three humanitarian convoys to eastern Ukraine, which has suffered greatly from the Kiev-led military operation against the region's pro-independence movement. The conflict has killed over 3,500 people since it began in April, according to UN estimates.
On August 22, the first Russian convoy with humanitarian aid that consisted of 280 trucks arrived in Luhansk after a series of delays.
The second Russian humanitarian convoy, consisting of some 220 trucks, arrived in Ukraine on September 13, carrying about 1,800 tons of food, medicine, water purification equipment and power generators.
The third convoy arrived on September 20 and comprised about 200 trucks, which carried water, food, generators and medication to the eastern regions of Ukraine.
On September 5, the conflicting sides reached a ceasefire agreement during the meeting in Minsk of the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. The participants of the talks agreed to organize more humanitarian convoys from Russia to eastern Ukraine.
Despite the agreement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has demanded that Russia stops sending convoys with humanitarian aid, labeling them as "provocations".
