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| Border Inspection of Russian Convoy Begins, Ukrainian Military Says | Border Inspection of Russian Convoy Begins, Ukrainian Military Says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russia — The Ukrainian military announced Friday that border guards had begun checking the contents of a convoy of more than 250 Russian trucks said to be carrying humanitarian supplies, but other officials said the trucks had not moved from a Russian military base where they were parked and inspections had not yet begun. | KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russia — The Ukrainian military announced Friday that border guards had begun checking the contents of a convoy of more than 250 Russian trucks said to be carrying humanitarian supplies, but other officials said the trucks had not moved from a Russian military base where they were parked and inspections had not yet begun. |
| In a statement posted on the military’s Facebook page, officials said that 59 customs officers would inspect the trucks on the Russian side of the border before the convoy would be allowed to proceed to the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists and suffering from shortages of food, water and electricity. | |
| The statement said the inspectors included 41 representatives of Ukraine’s border control service and another 18 from customs. | |
| But other Ukrainian officials said that the trucks had not moved from the Russian Army post to the border town where inspections were set to take place. The officials said that Ukraine was waiting for documents from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which was in turn awaiting documents from Moscow. | But other Ukrainian officials said that the trucks had not moved from the Russian Army post to the border town where inspections were set to take place. The officials said that Ukraine was waiting for documents from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which was in turn awaiting documents from Moscow. |
| At the camp where the trucks spent the night, Russian officials and a contingent of young men dressed identically in beige hats, T-shirts and shorts allowed journalists to inspect trucks of their choice for a second straight day. None could say definitely when they would leave. | At the camp where the trucks spent the night, Russian officials and a contingent of young men dressed identically in beige hats, T-shirts and shorts allowed journalists to inspect trucks of their choice for a second straight day. None could say definitely when they would leave. |
| “A day, two days, two weeks, a month,” said Boris Pashenko, a border service representative. | “A day, two days, two weeks, a month,” said Boris Pashenko, a border service representative. |
| The trucks were parked in a border zone close to several military bases, where columns of armored military vehicles driving in the direction of the Ukrainian border are a common sight. Two Western journalists reported seeing 23 armored vehicles crossing a border post into Ukraine on Thursday evening. | The trucks were parked in a border zone close to several military bases, where columns of armored military vehicles driving in the direction of the Ukrainian border are a common sight. Two Western journalists reported seeing 23 armored vehicles crossing a border post into Ukraine on Thursday evening. |
| Ukraine and the United States have accused Russia of covertly arming pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. | Ukraine and the United States have accused Russia of covertly arming pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. |
| Sergey Karavaytsev of Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations denied that the trucks in the convoy were from the military and said they were hired through private businesses. Masked guards who said they were military police officers also appeared at the camp site late Thursday evening. Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross were also at the convoy’s field camp on Friday, Mr. Karavaytsev said. | Sergey Karavaytsev of Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations denied that the trucks in the convoy were from the military and said they were hired through private businesses. Masked guards who said they were military police officers also appeared at the camp site late Thursday evening. Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross were also at the convoy’s field camp on Friday, Mr. Karavaytsev said. |
| In Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, a military spokesman said that an agreement had been reached to allow the inspection of the convoy but complained that the government had not received the documents it needed to start inspections of the more than 260 Russian trucks. | |
| “Help is needed and we accepted it,” the spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, told a briefing in Kiev, adding that Ukrainian inspectors had already traveled to Donetsk, a small Russian town that has the same name as a separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine, to begin their work. “But we can’t start the procedure because we don’t have documents.” | |
| Mr. Lysenko said the documents needed to start inspections should be provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross, but the relief organization said it was still waiting for Russia to turn over detailed information about the exact contents of the trucks. “We are still waiting for the information we need,” said Andre Loersch, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Kiev. | |
| While backing away from the angry denunciations that characterized Ukraine’s initial response to Moscow’s relief effort, Mr. Lysenko repeated earlier Ukrainian accusations that Russia was sending military assistance across the border to pro-Russian rebels. He said unspecified military equipment had been moved into Ukraine from Russia through a border area controlled by the pro-Russian separatists. | |
| Stung by accusations that it is stalling the delivery of Russian relief supplies to Luhansk and is not doing enough to improve the plight of residents caught up in the fighting, Ukraine is sending its own aid convoys to the besieged city. Mr. Lysenko said 71 Ukrainian trucks had been sent to the conflict zone with food, water, tea, soap and other supplies. He said 390 tons of Ukrainian aid had already arrived in Luhansk. | |
| He denied rebel claims that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the shelling on Thursday of downtown Donetsk. He blamed rebels for the shelling, accusing them of firing into the city from positions near the Donetsk train station. He did not explain why the rebels would fire into a city they control. |