DONETSK, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev would not let the German convoy with humanitarian aid into southeastern Ukraine because of fears that foreign staff will see the real situation in the region, Deputy Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Andrei Purgin said Wednesday.
"Kiev authorities will not let them in. As previously they did not let in the Malaysian experts [at the crash site of flight MH17] - they then had to literally run away from Kiev, and arrive at our checkpoint by taxi. The next time 30 Malaysian experts had been sitting in Kiev for a week, but still did not reach us, they flew back," Purgin told RIA Novosti.
On Tuesday, Kiev said that the humanitarian convoy from Germany, which has entered Ukraine from Poland on Tuesday, was expected to arrive in Kiev Tuesday night, and the aid would be distributed and sent to the Ukrainian regions by October 12.
Following the initiative by German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Mueller, the German government has sent 740 tons of humanitarian aid from 17 German cities to Ukraine. The convoy is carrying construction materials, heaters, blankets and folding beds, according to the Spiegel magazine.
In April, Kiev forces started a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, which according to UN figures claimed the lives of over 3,600 people and left 8,500 injured.
Due to the conflict, Ukraine's southeastern regions witnessed a severe humanitarian catastrophe, as many citizens have struggled without clean water, electricity and other basic necessities.
