Deny Aid

From the BBC:
"Ukraine may block Russian humanitarian aid convoy"

Ukrainian officials have set conditions for receiving Russian aid in the east, after a huge convoy of food and medicine set off from outside Moscow. Security council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said aid should pass through a government-controlled border post and be accompanied by Red Cross officials. There are Western concerns that Russia is using humanitarian assistance as a pretext to invade eastern Ukraine. At least 1,500 have died since Ukraine sent troops against pro-Russia rebels. The fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since mid-April has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have fled to Russia. Almost 300 lorries of humanitarian aid left the Moscow area bound for Luhansk on Tuesday morning.  Russian TV showed the cargo, said to include hundreds of tonnes of grain, baby food and medicine, which will go to civilians trapped by fighting in the area held by pro-Russia rebels.  Media reports said the cargo left from a point south-west of Moscow. It is expected to arrive at the Ukrainian border in the next two days. "The convoy will deliver to the residents of eastern Ukraine about 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian cargo, collected by the residents of Moscow city and region," Moscow region officials said.  But Mr Lysenko said Ukraine had three conditions for receiving the aid:

• That it should pass through a border post controlled by Ukrainian government guards
• That it should be accompanied by Red Cross representatives
• That a decision should be made about the amount being sent, its destination and route.

Another Ukrainian official, Valery Chaly, said Ukraine would not allow access to a convoy accompanied by the Russian military or Emergencies Ministry. The BBC's David Stern, in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, says there has been some confusion in the Ukrainian government's response to news of the convoy, suggesting it has been taken by surprise. A Russian Emergencies Ministry spokesman later told the BBC that the Russian lorries would not cross the border, and that it was up to the Red Cross to decide what to do with the aid.  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced the Russian humanitarian mission in co-operation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  The ICRC has acknowledged the situation in eastern Ukraine is critical, with thousands of people reported to be without access to water, electricity and medical aid.  On Tuesday, the organisation said it was not involved in the Russian mission as some issues needed clarification and security guarantees from all sides were required. But it said it had agreed in principle to such an operation and suggested it could get involved if the clarification it had asked for was received. On Monday, Western officials warned that Russia could be planning military operations in eastern Ukraine, using humanitarian aid as a cover. "We see the Russians developing the narrative and the pretext for such an operation under the guise of a humanitarian operation, and we see a military build-up that could be used to conduct such illegal military operations in Ukraine," said Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Responding to news of the convoy's departure, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that the mission could be a way for the Russian military to install itself in eastern Ukraine and present the world with a fait accompli.  Ukraine has reported in recent days that Russia has massed 45,000 troops on its border. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the idea of using the aid convoy as an excuse for military action as "absurd" and said the mission was purely humanitarian and non-military. Advances by government troops in recent weeks have put pressure on the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, leaving the latter in particular virtually cut off. The fighting has also prevented a full investigation of the MH17 air disaster on 17 July, in which 298 people died. It is strongly suspected that the plane was shot down by pro-Russian rebels. Russia and the separatists have blamed the Ukrainian military. Speaking on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped to find a way for Ukraine to work with Russia to help bring about a formal investigation into the crash.

^ I don't think the Ukraine should receive any aid from Russia (at least not until they give back the Crimea.) Even if the aid goes through the Red Cross it is a bad idea to accept things from an occupying army. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28751447