Russian “humanitarian” trucks leaving with stolen factory equipment

Trucks in the Russian "humanitarian" convoy are carrying back loads of equipment from Ukrainian defense industry plants," reports the National Security Council of Ukraine. "We have current information that a number of the trucks are being used in Donetsk and Luhansk to take back some of the equipment of our companies," said National Security Council Spokesman Andriy Lysenko at a press briefing Saturday, August 23. According to Lysenko, Russian KAMAZ trucks are being loaded with equipment from the Donetsk Topaz plant, which manufactures modern early warning radar equipment like the "Kolchuga" radar complex, as well as equipment from a plant in Luhansk that manufactures small arms ammunition. When asked about the contents of the cargo that arrived in Luhansk, Lysenko said that the Security Council did not have any information on "what arrived, where it was unloaded and what happened to it." Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced that the humanitarian aid for the southeast had been delivered "as intended." Lysenko confirmed that a number of the trucks have returned to Russia, but said that the Russian military is preventing Ukrainian border guards at the Izvaryne  checkpoint from inspecting them. "As of 13:00, 184 trucks have left Ukrainian territory he said. However, our representatives are not being allowed to inspect these trucks." As previously reported, on August 22, trucks with "humanitarian" aid from the Russian Federation left the checkpoint at Izvaryne and started moving in the direction of Luhansk in Ukraine. The Red Cross reported that the organization's representatives would not accompany the Russian convoy to Ukraine, as had been agreed to earlier. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine declared that the convoy had crossed the border illegally. [hr]Translation: Anna Mostovych Sources: Ukrinform, Korrespondent, Interfax