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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Convoy rolls into Ukraine

U.S., NATO condemn Russia’s move; Red Cross opts not to provide escort

Russian trucks roll Friday on the main road to Luhansk near the town of Sukhodolsk, after passing the Ukraine border post at Izvaryne. The trucks entered without Ukraine’s permission. (Associated Press)
Mstyslav Chernov And Peter Leonard Associated Press

LUHANSK, Ukraine – Tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated sharply on Friday as Moscow sent more than 130 trucks rolling across the border in what it said was a mission to deliver humanitarian aid. Ukraine called it a “direct invasion,” and the U.S. and NATO condemned it as well.

In another ominous turn in the crisis, NATO said it has mounting evidence that Russian troops are operating inside Ukraine and launching artillery attacks from Ukrainian soil – significantly deeper involvement in the fighting than the West has previously alleged.

The trucks, part of a convoy of 260 vehicles, entered Ukraine without government permission after being held up at the border for a week amid fears that the mission was a Kremlin ploy to help the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

By late afternoon, trucks had reached the city of Luhansk, whose war-reduced population of a quarter-million people has suffered under intense fighting over the past several weeks between Ukrainian forces and the separatists.

Russia said the white-tarped vehicles were carrying food, water, generators and sleeping bags.

Some of the trucks were opened to reporters a few days ago, and at least some of those items could be seen. But Associated Press journalists following the convoy across rough country roads heard the trucks’ contents rattling and sliding around Friday, suggesting many were only partially loaded.

The arrival of the trucks instantly raised the stakes in the crisis: An attack on the convoy could give Russia a pretext to intervene more deeply in the war. And a pause in the fighting to allow the convoy safe passage could hamper further battlefield advances by Ukrainian forces, which have reported substantial inroads against the rebels over the past week.

At the United Nations in New York, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin hotly denied any Russian troops were inside Ukraine. Russia has also steadfastly denied supporting and arming the rebels.

Moscow’s decision to move unilaterally, without Red Cross involvement, raised questions about its intentions.

Ukrainian security services chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko called the convoy a “direct invasion” and said the half-empty trucks would be used to transport weapons to rebels and spirit away the bodies of Russian fighters killed in eastern Ukraine. He said the men operating the trucks were Russian military personnel trained to drive combat vehicles, tanks and artillery.

Nalyvaichenko insisted, however, that Ukraine would not shell the convoy.

NATO’s secretary-general condemned Russia for sending in a “so-called humanitarian convoy.” Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia committed “a blatant breach” of its international commitments and “a further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

The Pentagon demanded Russia withdraw the convoy immediately, warning: “Failure to do so will result in additional costs and isolation.”

The Red Cross, which had planned to escort the convoy to assuage fears that it was a cover for a Russian invasion, said it had not received enough security guarantees to do so, as shelling had continued overnight.

In announcing its decision to act, the Russian Foreign Ministry said: “There is increasingly a sense that the Ukrainian leaders are deliberately dragging out the delivery of the humanitarian load until there is a situation in which there will no longer be anyone left to help.”

Rebel forces took advantage of Ukraine’s promise not to shell the convoy to drive on the same country road. Some 20 green military supply vehicles – flatbed trucks and fuel tankers – were seen traveling in the opposite direction, along with smaller rebel vehicles.