NOVOAZOVSK, November 6 (RIA Novosti) – International monitors in violence-hit east Ukraine are ready to confirm the arrival of another Russian humanitarian aid convoy to the region, but will not inspect the cargo, a senior OSCE official said Thursday.
OSCE observers are ready to register the arrival of the convoy, but at the same time their mandate does not allow its monitors to inspect the vehicles or their contents, Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine told reporters.
Kiev authorities have claimed that Ukrainian customs and security officers have been given no opportunity to inspect the contents of the Russian aid convoys at its border, while Moscow has repeatedly stated that Ukrainian customs officials and international observers are welcome to inspect the cargoes.
Since August, Russia has sent six aid convoys to eastern Ukraine, which has been suffering from a humanitarian crisis since Kiev launched a military operation against the region's independence supporters in April.
The convoys have delivered food, water, power generators and medicine, as well as warm clothes and supplies for residents of the conflict-torn regions to replenish their stocks ahead of the coming winter.
