Ukraine requiring stiff procedures for Russian aid vehicles to enter country

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Ukraine destroys Russian vehicles crossing border

Complicated procedures drag on for hundreds of Russian aid trucks near the border with Ukraine. CCTV America’s Kate Parkinson reports from Dontesk.


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The convoy will be allowed to enter Ukraine to help suffering civilians, but only if accompanied by the Red Cross, and after cargo approval. Meanwhile, the fighting in eastern Ukraine is intensifying.

Russia’s military strength is on full display along the border with Ukraine. Moscow denies claims by Kiev and its western allies that military aid to the rebels is crossing over.

Ukrainian officials say Russia is helping rebels

Russia's military strength is on full display along the border with Ukraine. Moscow denies claims by Kiev and its western allies that military aid to the rebels is crossing over.

However, the new pro-Russian leader in the breakaway Republic of Donetsk said openly in a video released on Saturday that Russia has strengthened his besieged rebel forces with men, armored vehicles and tanks. The Ukrainian government said its artillery destroyed “the majority” of a column of Russian military vehicles that had entered Ukraine.

It’s not clear whether the military column that Ukrainian artillery hit is the one British reporters saw crossing the border from Russia in the dead of night on Thursday. It is also unclear if it is the reinforcements, but the humanitarian convoy that has attracted international attention does not appear to have been directly involved.

That convoy is stalled at the border, awaiting inspection by Ukrainian border guards, as Russia, Ukraine and the Red Cross decide how the aid will be delivered.

The Russian Defense Ministry said no Russian vehicles had been destroyed, because none were inside Ukraine. The Kremlin also says no Russian military personnel are embedded in the humanitarian convoy, but with more than 40,000 Russian troops massed near the border Kiev, NATO officials say a Russian invasion is quote: “a high probability”…and are anxiously waiting for Moscow’s next move.