Aug 22: Trucks have moved into Ukraine without the approval of the International Red Cross, or the Ukrainian government. This is a direct violation of Ukrainian borders and territory.
A representative of the International Red Cross Committee in Ukraine Andre Lersch stated that the issue of the cargo’s security is still being discussed. He noted that the Russian “humanitarian aid” had not crossed the border yet. Lersch said that there are 40 representatives of the Red Cross at the border, who will escort the cargo. Later the Russian MFA made a statement that the column was moving towards Luhansk." More here.
Aug 23: The convoy entered Eastern Ukraine, in spite of this happening without the International Red Cross permission or the approval of the Ukrainian government. Many 'Western' European countries have 'condemned' the action. Russia Today triumphantly reported that all trucks have returned empty: “There were 227 trucks in the humanitarian operation participating in the operation, and they have all returned. All those vehicles have been searched by the representatives of the customs and border control, both on the Ukrainian and Russian side. No issues have been pointed out. All vehicles were empty upon returning, and the media representatives checked that, too, while they were filming the search.” The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also confirmed that all 227 vehicles that entered Ukraine as part of a Russian aid convoy have now returned home.
Merkel met with Poroshenko today in Kyiv. She announced that Germany does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and considers it a dangerous violation of the international order established after WWII. “This happened in violation of territorial integrity in Europe,” she said. “And if we accept this principle, then this can happen to us throughout all of Europe. Then it will affect not only Ukraine and Crimea. In every European country claims can be made to certain other territories and regions, which will disrupt peaceful coexistence in Europe and the very important recognition of territorial integrity established after the Second World War, since Europe has been living according to these principles up to the present time,” she said.
Speculation and analyses continue about what Putin's plans are for Ukraine. Is it an invasion that he wants? Russian-leaning persons in political power? Russian federations? Or a broken Ukraine that will allow Russian influence to inscribe the Crimean invasion and annexation as a 'necessary' or 'desired' move on the part of a benevolent Russian state? Regardless of which theory you may agree with, it is undeniable that the movement in the East is a grand distraction from Crimea. Crimea, and the fate of the millions living there, is being forgotten. Will the next generation always assume this land was Russian? What of the Crimean Tatar community?
The political scientist Vadym Karasev believes that the Russian ‘humanitarian convoy’ invasion of Ukraine right now is a provocation by Vladimir Putin. The Russian president is trying to weaken the bargaining position of Ukraine in Minsk. The ‘Humanitarian convoy’ crossed the border in order to prevent the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk ‘Peoples Republics’ being defeated by the Ukrainian army on the eve of Independence Day and the meeting in Minsk scheduled for 26 August, 2014. The goal is to prevent the possibility for the President of Ukraine to have a strong negotiating position. If prior to the meeting in Minsk the Ukrainian army had taken Donetsk and Lugansk, it would have dramatically altered the agenda of the talks in favor of Ukrainian interests,”- as Vadym Karasev commented to UNIAN. more here.
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