NOGINSK, November 19 (Sputnik) – The Russian Emergencies Ministry will continue helping eastern Ukraine residents as long as it is necessary, ministry spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky said Wednesday.
“Humanitarian cargo is now being collected. This work <…> will continue as long as it is necessary,” he said at a ceremony to greet a convoy that delivered over 450 metric tons of aid to conflict-hit areas over the weekend.
On Sunday, the seventh Russian humanitarian convoy delivered over 450 metric tons of humanitarian aid including the electric equipment, spare parts and building materials to the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
In total, since August, Russian convoys have delivered more than 8,000 tons of food, water, power generators and medication, as well as warm clothes and winter supplies for the residents of the war-ridden Ukrainian regions.
In April, Kiev forces started military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of over 4,000 people. On September 5, the conflicting sides reached a ceasefire agreement at a Contact Group meeting in Minsk.
Ukraine's southeastern regions are currently mired in a severe humanitarian catastrophe, as many citizens are struggling without clean water, electricity and other essentials.
