Ukraine: E.U. Sends Aid to East

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/europe/ukraine-eu-sends-aid-to-east.html

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The European Union delivered three planeloads of aid to eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, including blankets, tents, heaters and warm clothing, as part of a stepped-up effort to help the nearly one million people who have fled their homes in the war-torn region. The planes landed in Dnipropetrovsk, outside the area where pro-Russian separatists are battling the Ukrainian military. The assistance is being delivered by a coalition including Unicef, Save the Children, the World Food Program and People in Need, and is part of more than $53 million in aid pledged by European Union countries. The effort contrasted sharply with Russia’s unilateral dispatch of convoys to eastern Ukraine in recent months, which drew criticism from the Ukrainian government and the Red Cross over a lack of inspections and participation of international groups. “We have not forgotten the population of Ukraine,” said Christos Stylianides, the European commissioner for humanitarian assistance, who oversaw the planes’ arrival. “We’re in there big time,” he added. “It is our job to minimize the pain.”