"At 04:00 Moscow time [01:00 GMT], over 100 vehicles left the Donskoy rescue center of the Emergencies Ministry in the [Russian] Rostov region in the direction of the Russia-Ukraine border," a ministry spokesperson said early on Thursday.
The convoy is carrying over 1,100 tonnes (metric tons) of aid, as well as New Year presents for children and the elderly.
The convoy vehicles will split into two groups at the border with Ukraine – one will go to Donetsk, while the other one will go to Lugansk.
Ukraine’s southeast has been severely affected by Kiev’s special military operation, launched in Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014. The operation was a response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government in the country.
Donbass residents have also been affected by an economic blockade, imposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in November 2014.
Overall, Russia has delivered more than 56,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s southeast since August 2014.
