Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

tensions

Ukraine tensions rise as Russian aid waits at border

Ukraine claims it destroyed a Russian military convoy.

AFP news agency / YouTube

UKRAINE’S CRISIS ENTERED dangerous new territory, with Kiev claiming its forces destroyed a Russian military convoy, while the US warned Moscow over its “provocative” efforts at destabilisation.

Moscow and Kiev’s top diplomats agreed to an urgent meeting with their French and German counterparts Sunday in an attempt to calm the soaring tensions, as wrangling continued over the fate of a mammoth Russian aid convoy parked up close to the Ukrainian frontier.

The US National Security Council warned of an “extremely dangerous and provocative” escalation in the crisis by Russia after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claimed his troops had blown up part of small Russian army convoy — separate from the humanitarian convoy — that breached the border.

Russia Ukraine Russian military vehicles maneuver on a road 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Ukrainian border in the Rostov-on-Don region, Russia AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Russia dismissed the claim as “fantasies,” its latest denial of persistent allegations from the West that it is arming the rebels.

But the European Union piled the pressure on Moscow by insisting it “put an immediate stop to any form of border hostilities, in particular to the flow of arms, military advisers and armed personnel into the conflict region”.

Aid ‘still waiting’

The humanitarian situation in war-torn east Ukraine has deteriorated still further as four months of fierce clashes that have killed over 2,000 people and left people without water and basic services raged on.

Moscow has sent nearly 300 trucks of what it claims is humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine. The West and Kiev fear it could be a “Trojan horse” of arms and possibly even soldiers bound for the restive east of the country.

Ukraine Pro-Russian rebels hold their positions on the frontline near the village of Krasnodon, eastern Ukraine. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The Russian convoy has been parked since Thursday about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border with Ukraine’s Lugansk region, as Kiev and Moscow continued to haggle over how it would cross into rebel-held territory.

A Red Cross spokeswoman in the border zone told AFP Saturday that so far the organisation has not inspected any of the trucks, waiting for both sides to give a green light.

“There was a meeting this morning between the Ukrainians and the Russians. We did not participate,” said Galina Balzamova. “We are still waiting for agreement” between them, she added.

The United States warned Moscow against sending “vehicles, person, or cargo of any kind into Ukraine, under any pretext” without Kiev’s permission.

- © AFP 2014.

Read: Russian armoured vehicles seen near Ukraine aid trucks

Aaron McKenna: We should aim to do less, not more, trade with Russia

Your Voice
Readers Comments
114
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.