Alexey Ponomarev
The Ukrainian MFA advised Russia to send humanitarian aid to the Crimea instead of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. This is how Ukrainian diplomats responded to the note their Russian colleagues sent earlier.
“We proposed that Moscow concentrate instead on the satisfaction of the numerous petitions regarding humanitarian aid from the citizens of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which has been annexed by Russia. We officially expressed our concern with the fact that numerous signals of the world community regarding the dramatic worsening of the situation on the Ukrainian peninsula, as a result of its occupation by Russia, remain without an adequate reaction on its part,” says the document.
The Ukrainian MFA also called Moscow’s initiative “yet another propaganda element, the goal of which is to show, first and foremost, to the Russian consumer the so-called ‘good intentions’ of the Kremlin, and take advantage of the difficult situation, which itself was provoked by the Russian side.”
“From the territory of the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian-Russian state border is being systematically violated by armed terrorist groups, which are killing, terrorizing, and intimidate the citizens of Ukraine. Therefore it should not be ruled out that the trick with the so-called humanitarian aid is nothing but a veiled attempt to try and help Russian mercenaries – terrorists that today have ended up in a difficult position due to the successful actions of the anti-terrorist operation,” also says the statement of the Ukrainian MFA.
On May 28, the Russian MFA sent a note to Kyiv regarding readiness to assist the eastern regions of Ukraine, where fighting continues between the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian militia, which stand for the secession of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. The MFA’s message emphasized that they meant “primarily medicines and medical supplies.”
The majority of the militia opposing the Ukrainian army, who call themselves supporters of the People’s Republic of Donetsk, are ‘tourists’ from Russia (including Chechnya) and Crimea. The commander of the militia in Donetsk Oblast is Russian citizen Igor Strelkov (Girkin), who in a video address made on May 18 lamented the lack of locals willing to fight on the side of the PRD. Also, it was learned on May 29 that during the clashes in Donetsk, 33 Russian nationals were killed fighting on the side of the separatists.
Source: SLON.ru
Translated by Mariya Shcherbinina
