Russia Masses Military Vehicles As Aid Convoy Waits Near Ukraine Border

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

(Reuters) - Dozens of heavy Russian military vehicles massed on Friday near the border with Ukraine, where a huge Russian convoy with humanitarian aid came to a halt as Moscow and Kiev struggled to agree on border crossing procedures.

Russia says it is carrying 2,000 tonnes of water, baby food and other aid for people in east Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists are fighting government forces.

Kiev and some Western officials have said they believe the convoy could be a cover for a Russian military incursion - a claim Moscow has described as "absurd".

--CLIP
The newspaper said the move was unlikely to represent a full-scale official Russian invasion, but it was clear evidence that Russian troops are active inside Ukraine's borders.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/uk-ukraine-crisis-convoy-idUKKBN0GF0CG20140815

[reorg]

1. "masses of military vehicles"

Last edited Fri Aug 15, 2014, 01:21 PM - Edit history (1)

The reported number is actually 23, less than 2 dozen armoured personnel carriers. Seems kind of obvious that they are supposed to help check the terrain near the road to Luhansk which the aid convoy is going to have to use.

These are the "heavy" vehicles "massed" near the border?



Shit, after reading the OP I might have expected something like this



or this

[TT_Progress]

2. Also, the "report" claiming some of the 23 vehicles "crossed the border" is unverified and

an attempt at either a "scoop" or views.

I have been reading up on the Guardian as well as the Telegraph, which the reporters who were together made this claim.

They saw "some of" the 23 vehicles cross through a checkpoint into a secured border zone (buffer), which was done in clear site with no attempt to conceal.

It is telling that there has been no follow up visit to the checkpoint to clarify and verify even though it is now daylight.

[another_liberal]

5. The Guardian reporter does seem to be playing to the war-mongers . . .

His reporting on this Russian incursion incident, at least, is unsubstantiated by other sources.

[reorg]

16. Yes, poor on facts and high on speculation n/t

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. Sovereignty, schmovereignty, right?

I mean, it's perfectly all right to threaten to invade the sovereign territory of a neighboring country so long as you have what you deem to be an acceptable number of military vehicles, right?

[Cali_Democrat]

3. Russia needs to hand over the "aid" to the Red Cross and have them distribute it in Ukraine

Problem solved.

Baby food? I wouldn't be surprised if that convoy is carrying AK-47's.

I'm having visions of a Trojan Horse operation.

[MBS]

4. yup, that seems like the best solution

and one that I think that had been requested by at least some Ukrainian politicians.
But common-sense rules that build on international law and UN and Red Cross experience with multiple international crises do not seem to move Putin et al.

[another_liberal]

6. If they "hand the aid over" to Ukrainian authorities . . .

None of it will ever reach the people it is intended to help. Kiev wants the people of Donetsk and Lugansk to suffer hunger and thirst and to go without medical supplies or shelter tents. The Ukrainians want to starve the separatists into submission. They will never give them any Russian relief supplies. Their bureaucratic delays would just compound one another until there was no one left to help.

[dipsydoodle]

8. Exactly.

Kiev even could go as far as selling the aid.

[LanternWaste]

9. Creative allegations and prophecies...

Creative allegations and prophecies...

[another_liberal]

20. "Creative" is trusting that armed fascist militias will obey orders from the Red Cross.

Lets not be naïve.

[Throd]

13. The Red Cross, not Kiev.

[another_liberal]

17. Once the aid leaves Russian custody, it will be in Ukrainian custody . . .

After all, how many battalions does the Red Cross have on the ground in eastern Ukraine?

To assume the same fascists who bombard civilian districts of major cities will now honor Red Cross authority reminds me of a great 20th Century novel's closing line:

"Isn't it pretty to think so."

[ballyhoo]

10. That is the LAST thing they need to do. Once the Ukrainians

get a hold of it, it will never get to the people who need it. The poor, unfortunates do not really need any Western cookies this time. They had enough of those.

[IronGate]

12. Maybe you missed the part where Cali Democrat said to turn the "aid" over to the Red Cross?

The last thing the Ukrainian's need is for those so called Russian "aid" trucks to enter their country without a thorough inspection of each and every truck, each and every box on those trucks.

[another_liberal]

21. Yeah, right . . .

Since it's just ethnic Russians in need, who cares if they have to wait another week or two to get food, water and medicine. The Ukrainians simply must be allowed to tie up any help at the border, while they check every box of baby food for hidden nuclear weapons and such.

(sigh)

[dipsydoodle]

14. Red Cross accepted all Ukrainian humanitarian aid in Luhansk Oblast.

Ukrainian humanitarian aid from Kharkiv has been fully unloaded at warehouses in Starobilsk, Luhansk region, and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are accepting the cargo according to all norms and rules, said Iryna Heraschenko, the president's envoy for the settlement in eastern Ukraine.

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/red-cross-accepted-all-ukrainian-humanitarian-aid-in-luhansk-oblast-360831.html

Horses and AK47s etc were noticeable only by their complete absence.
.

[Cali_Democrat]

15. Good.

Like I said above, problem solved.

Obviously Russia isn't going to hand over their AK-47's to the Red Cross

That's why it's important to make sure all aid went through the Red Cross...

...to prevent Russian shenanigans.

[another_liberal]

18. How much of that relief aid has actually reached those in the beseiged, separatist cities?

I doubt if any.

[dipsydoodle]

7. West may be telling Ukraine to stand on its own against Russia.

The most interesting thing over the past 24 hours was the Russian military convoy passing through the border into Ukraine, witnessed and photographed by Western and even Russian media outlets.

And, more remarkably, has been the muted reaction from the West and indeed from the Western media. Some 4-5 weeks ago, the White House PR machine would have been going into overdrive, and warning of new sanctions iterations in the pipeline unless Russia “de-escalated.” Thus far nothing we have seen next to nothing of note.

Officially the Russian Ministry of Defense has denied the convoy exists/crossed – but the evidence is as conclusive as it could be from the tweets/snaps by the Guardian/London Telegraph/Novy Vremya. I sense this denial was tongue in cheek. But what is more important, I think the Russians wanted everyone to see this convoy crossing the border. Journalists were guided to the border crossing by the convoy of Russian white humanitarian trucks – and then the military convoy just appeared, turned right and crossed the border in front of the journalists. Russia wanted everyone to see that it has the capacity to cross the border into Ukraine at will – even with full Russian military regalia.

It would seem as though Russia is goading/testing the West – to see the Western sanctions response.

http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/op-ed/timothy-ash-west-may-be-telling-ukraine-to-stand-on-its-own-against-russia-360788.html

[another_liberal]

19. Perhaps actual Iraqi and Kurdish crude reserves are more important to the West . . .

Fighting a war over potential shale oil deposits, which are thought to exist under the Donbas region, might have to take a back seat until the Islamic State threat is contained. For the United States at least, restricted circumstances may require limiting imperial aggression to just one war at a time.