US demands Russia withdraw aid convoy from Ukraine

Text by NEWS WIRES

The United States on Friday demanded Russia "immediately" withdraw an aid convoy of vehicles from Ukraine and warned of further international sanctions if Moscow did not respect Kiev's sovereignty.

Russia sent dozens of aid trucks into rebel-held eastern Ukraine earlier on Friday without Kiev’s approval, saying its patience had worn out with the Ukrainian government’s stalling tactics.

"Russia must remove its vehicles and its personnel from the territory of Ukraine immediately. Failure to do so will result in additional costs and isolation," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.

The United Nations Security Council was to hold emergency consultations on the convoy Friday at the request of Lithuania.

NATO's secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, called Russia's unilateral decision to send more than 130 trucks filled with what it called humanitarian aid into rebel-held areas “a blatant breach of Russia's international commitments'' and “a further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty by Russia.''

Rasmussen said in a statement that Friday's convoy to Luhansk could deepen a crisis “which Russia itself has created and has continued to fuel.''

Rasmussen said the action has coincided with “a major escalation in Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine since mid-August, including the use of Russian forces.” Rasmussen urged Moscow "to stop destabilizing Ukraine."

‘Clear violation’ of border

The EU's foreign policy chief's office also condemned the convoy.

"This is a clear violation of the Ukrainian border. This also goes counter to the previous arrangements reached between Ukraine, Russia and the ICRC. We urge Russia to reverse its decision," Sebastien Brabant, spokesman for the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin talked to German Chancellor Angela Merkel by phone on Friday and discussed possible joint steps to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine ahead of Merkel's trip to Kiev on Saturday, the Kremlin said.

Putin told Merkel that Russia decided to send the humanitarian convoy into Ukraine because it could no longer wait for Kiev to give the green light. He also expressed concern over escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin statement said.

Pro-Russian rebels

The first white-tarped semis reached Luhansk in the afternoon, Interfax news agency reported on Friday, citing pro-Russian rebels who control the city.
The separatists are besieged by government forces. Shelling of the city has been ongoing for weeks, cutting off power, water and phone lines and leaving food supplies scarce.
In the past few days, Ukraine says its troops have recaptured significant parts of Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city, and suspicions are running high that Moscow’s humanitarian operation may in fact be aimed at halting that military momentum.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which had planned to escort the Russian aid convoy to assuage fears that it was being used as a cover for a Russian invasion, said it had not received enough security guarantees to escort the convoy.

Ukraine had authorized the entrance of a few dozen trucks, but the number of Russian vehicles entering the country through a rebel-held border point was clearly substantially more than the agreed-upon amount.

Ukraine has accused Russia of supporting and arming the rebels, a charge Russia denies.