The reasons behind Putin’s “humanitarian convoy”

Putin’s “humanitarian convoy,” which left Podmoskovye today despite everything, is designed to demonstrate to Russians the peace-loving nature and humanitarianism of their Kremlin leader and to become yet another factor in the destabilization of the Donbas.

Yesterday’s statement by the Kremlin press service about the Russian “humanitarian convoy” dispatched to Ukraine evoked  appropriate reactions by Ukrainians and the international community. Remembering the Trojan War adage about the bearers of gifts and their gifts, as well as the previous “humanitarian” contribution to the terrorists in the form of fighters, tanks, “Grad” missiles and “Buks,”  Ukrainians and Europeans explained to Putin that humanitarian initiatives from the instigator of this war appear strange, at the very least, and warned him that the unilateral introduction by Putin of any “humanitarian convoys” will be seen solely as a military invasion.

However, the head of the Putinist Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, announced yesterday that the issue of humanitarian assistance to the Donbas has been arranged with Ukrainian authorities and the International Red Cross. Half an hour later, during his conversation with the head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, Putin called attention to the “disastrous consequences of military operations conducted by the Kyiv government” and announced he was sending a “humanitarian convoy” to the Donbas. However, no one at the Ukrainian Red Cross had heard anything about any agreements, and the National Security spokesman Andriy Lysenko said  that Putin was simply using the situation for his own PR purposes, since the only existing agreement is the one between President Poroshenko and the International Red Cross.

Nonetheless, this morning a Russian humanitarian convoy with 280 KAMAZ military trucks repainted white left Podmoskovye in the direction of Ukraine. According to Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, there is no military support for the column and Ukrainian authorities have agreed to its entry into Ukrainian territory. However, it so happens there is only Russian cargo in the convoy. Furthermore, there has been no announcement by Ukrainian authorities of any agreement regarding exclusively Russian humanitarian aid under the auspices of the International Red Cross.

Most likely, this entire long and complicated “humanitarian story” will become another informational weapon by Putin to destabilize the situation in Ukraine. On the one hand, this “humanitarian mission” is supposed to present Putin in the eyes of his voters as a “dove of peace” who cares about the fate of “Russian-speaking compatriots” in the Donbas and, on the other hand, the advance of the column will be accompanied by new servings of lies and provocations.

There is little doubt that as the column approaches the border, the Kremlin will begin to whine about “Ukrainians avengers” who are rejecting the humanitarian cargo. Later, there will be announcements that the column cannot pass because of the actions by the Ukrainian military “at a time when civilians — the elderly and children — are dying massively in the Donbas.” At the same time, these same Russian “humanitarians” will be forcing their way to places where nobody is waiting for them and nobody has given them permission to go, thereby exposing themselves to inevitable conflicts and even provoking armed clashes. In this way, following old habits, the Russians will mask their actions with yet another series of Putin lies in the media, attempting to fool their own citizens as well as Europeans and Ukrainians in the occupied areas of the Donbas. Putin’s propagandists once again will demand the cessation of ATO due to the “humanitarian disaster” and in this manner will attempt to save the terrorist enclaves of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, whose prospects are melting away with each new day of the anti-terrorist operation.

Therefore, there will be more damage than humanitarian aid from Putin’s initiatives, which is not surprising since the “humanitarian disaster” in the Donbas is the direct result of Russian politics and can be stopped only by the correct actions of the ATO forces to free Ukrainian lands from Putin’s terrorists.