Russian military vehicles enter Ukraine as aid convoy stops short of border

Russian military vehicles enter Ukraine as aid convoy stops short of border

The white trucks of humanitarian aid rumbled through Russia in a convoy stretching for miles, moving slowly southwards on the M4 highway, amid a landscape of fertile fields and Ladas stopped at the roadside – their boots overflowing with watermelons for sale.

But, while the trucks came to a halt well short of Ukraine's border, a different Russian convoy did make the crossing into Ukrainian territory late on Thursday evening.

The Guardian saw a column of 23 armoured personnel carriers, supported by fuel trucks and other logistics vehicles with official Russian military plates, travelling towards the border near the Russian town of Donetsk – about 200km away from Donetsk, Ukraine.

After pausing by the side of the road until nightfall, the convoy crossed into Ukrainian territory, using a rough dirt track and clearly crossing through a gap in a barbed wire fence that demarcates the border. Armed men were visible in the gloom by the border fence as the column moved into Ukraine. Kiev has lost control of its side of the border in this area.

The trucks are unlikely to represent a full-scale official Russian invasion, and it was unclear how far they planned to travel inside Ukrainian territory and how long they would stay. But it was incontrovertible evidence of what Ukraine has long claimed – that Russian troops are active inside its borders.

It was also ironic given the attention to the huge convoy of humanitarian aid that moved slowly southwards on the M4 highway on Thursday. As the convoy moved closer to the stretch of border controlled by pro-Russian rebels it was hard to escape the feeling that Moscow's aid convoy had the potential to turn into a slow-motion disaster, perhaps even prompting a moment that could push Ukraine and Russia out of the messy conflict fought by proxies into full-blown, open engagement.

According to Moscow, the convoy is a goodwill gesture, packed with much-needed aid for the residents of eastern Ukraine. In Kiev's view, the convoy is at best a cynical ploy; at worst, a kind of Trojan centipede, winding its way into the country at a border point no longer controlled by Ukrainian forces, the nature of its cargo taken only on trust.

The humanitarian convoy stalled for 24 hours in the city of Voronezh during Wednesday, but set out at dawn on Thursday.

At one point, with President Vladimir Putin more than two hours late to address a gathering of top Russian officials in newly annexed Crimea, and the first lorries in the convoy taking the turnoff from the main M4 highway towards rebel-controlled Luhansk in Ukraine, there were whispers that perhaps Putin's announcement was being delayed to announce that the trucks would enter Ukraine whether or not the country's authorities gave the green light, a move Kiev has said would be seen as an invasion.

"Unpaid volunteers" who are being "paid" to do this job. The Red Cross on scene but not in charge of the convoy. Russian military units used to escort the convoy only to cross into Ukraine with the convoy left at the border.

Yes I am sure the aid vehicles stopped and they sent only the military vehicles in, c'mon now...What kind of trojan horse is that?

I guess I'll do what you guys do. Propoganda! I call propoganda! Pics or it didn't happen.


And no the pics on the Russian side of the border do not count. You'd think they would have actually got shots on the other side of the border.

Rebel forces unravel as Ukraine military cuts off key stronghold

Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine suffered dramatic setbacks Thursday as top military chiefs quit and Ukraine's forces pummelled their strongholds, cutting off a key rebel-held city from the Russian border.

Kiev's advance came as a massive Russian "humanitarian" convoy parked up close to the frontier, with doubts still swirling over whether the trucks would be allowed to cross.

The separatist leadership showed signs of unravelling following four months of fighting that have left more than 2,000 dead and many residents in the region without power or running water, and with dwindling food supplies.

The rebels said their main military chief, Igor Strelkov, had resigned while the rebel commander in the second-biggest insurgent stronghold of Lugansk, Valery Bolotov, told Russian television he was "temporarily" stepping down because of earlier injuries.

The announcements came after Ukraine's military said it had completely surrounded Lugansk, cutting all links to the border with Russia, which Kiev believes has been supplying the insurgents with weapons.

click link for remainder of article.

originally posted by: lightedhype
Yes I am sure the aid vehicles stopped and they sent only the military vehicles in, c'mon now...What kind of trojan horse is that?

So the drivers in the aid convoy, which is supposedly neutral, lied?

Or did the Red Cross lie when they stated they don't allow armed military vehicles to escort their convoys?

Why has the Red Cross denied a red cross convoy exists?

Why is puttin going to fix the suez canal? This is a big undertaking. You would have to shut it down to widen and deepen the canal. I think he just wants control of the canal to use it for control of what goes in and out and to let alot of his oil tankers thru. He is not going to fix the canal like he says. I hope this is not true, this will cause problems for many. I don't see how the hell he is going to pull this off. It took mega amounts of people just to cut that thru there. I don't see puttin paying mega dollars to people to widen and deepen the channel for the biggest,deepest and widest ships to go thru there. He has got those little wheels turning in his head, i wonder what he is up to, it cain't be good. Taking control of the suez canal could cause ships to divert to a longer shipping route to go around.Russia's new oil route. I think china is one of russia's new customers of crude he's pumpin out alot of lately. We all know how russia does deals with oil. Just like a junky, feeds them and gets them hooked on it, then when you least expect it, it gets cut off. If you don't play their way on the political playing feild, you get cut off of the oil you are hooked on. He's up to somethin. Exspanding his horizons. I heard this, but i don't think he will have the means of funds to do it. Or maybe this is his second option, who knows.

a reply to: cloaked4u

Care to link your post and comments into the topic so you don't derail the thread?

Russia just taking back what was once russia. ukrain. egypt and russian deal. cut new suez canal. youtu.be... seems puttin a busy man with ukrain, now making deals with egypt to help cut new suez canal. I wonder what his angle is, i can only guess.

He needs the ukraine to be part of russia, so that he can have his old routes back and pave the way of oil running thru the suez canal also. To supply the whole of ASIA. If i were to take a guess, china would be the answer. Feed china oil.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: cloaked4u



Care to link your post and comments into the topic so you don't derail the thread?

Not trying to derail, just tryin to think of what he is up to, puttin things together.

Western propaganda machine is hurting itself with all the "proof" they supply about "Russia in Ukraine".

there is no proof any military vehicles of Russian army had crossed the border.

as for the aid convoy, do you guys think Putin would be so stupid to actually send weapons or troops in those trucks?

no, he is not.

he actually sent 100% aid so the trucks must be allowed into Ukraine.

if Putin is planning to send troops/weapons in Ukraine he will probably do it as a response to some kind of attack or large scale provocation and it will happen in blink of an eye.

a reply to: demus

Agreed.

If Putin wanted to invade Ukraine, which would be a pretty stupid thing to do without direct and severe provocation, it wouldn't be by sneaking the tens of thousands of troops needed for an invasion in disguised among an aid convoy that the entire world is looking at under a microscope.

It would be a swift and entirely overt and heavy handed affair, not subtle in the least and everyone watching would know it was happening without question or confusion.

Hiding the size of force and arms needed to invade isn't going to be sent in hiding among aid workers.

Another stab at an anti-Russian propaganda piece lovingly proffered up by the OP, who's well known for his salivating anti-Russian 'stirring the pot' posts.

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: demus

Agreed.

If Putin wanted to invade Ukraine, which would be a pretty stupid thing to do without direct and severe provocation, it wouldn't be by sneaking the tens of thousands of troops needed for an invasion in disguised among an aid convoy that the entire world is looking at under a microscope.

It would be a swift and entirely overt and heavy handed affair, not subtle in the least and everyone watching would know it was happening without question or confusion.

Hiding the size of force and arms needed to invade isn't going to be sent in hiding among aid workers.

Another stab at an anti-Russian propaganda piece lovingly proffered up by the OP, who's well known for his salivating anti-Russian 'stirring the pot' posts.

Nonsense. The whole war thus far has been fought by proxy. The "rebels" are on the ropes and the Ukrainian army has Donetsk surrounded. What a perfect time to send in an aid convoy? Some or even most of those supplies might be for civilians, but a portion of them are marked for separatist fighters, and that is precisely what the Ukrainian government is worried about.

a reply to: DeadSeraph

'Marked for Ukrainian separatist fighters'?

You say this as a statement of fact...sources for your insider information that shows this to be so?

What a perfect time to send in an aid convoy?

When people are being shelled by heavy artillery, their homes, schools and hospitals are being hit by rockets and missiles from fighter aircraft, and they are generally being hammered into the ground...is usually the time to send in an aid convoy...people tend to be in need of it, when they are being annihilated and have nothing to help them with basic necessities of life.

It's an aid convoy, for thousands of people in desperate need of aid..get it?

We know there is fighting going on in and around that particular city. It would not surprise me one bit if Russia were supplying "partisan" forces in the area. I put partisans in quotes because it also would not surprise me if there were Russian soldiers masquerading as pro-Russian partisans taking part in the fighting. I will not claim that is likely, but a possibility. But again, it wouldn't surprise me.

originally posted by: DeadSeraph

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: demus

Agreed.

If Putin wanted to invade Ukraine, which would be a pretty stupid thing to do without direct and severe provocation, it wouldn't be by sneaking the tens of thousands of troops needed for an invasion in disguised among an aid convoy that the entire world is looking at under a microscope.

It would be a swift and entirely overt and heavy handed affair, not subtle in the least and everyone watching would know it was happening without question or confusion.

Hiding the size of force and arms needed to invade isn't going to be sent in hiding among aid workers.

Another stab at an anti-Russian propaganda piece lovingly proffered up by the OP, who's well known for his salivating anti-Russian 'stirring the pot' posts.

Nonsense. The whole war thus far has been fought by proxy. The "rebels" are on the ropes and the Ukrainian army has Donetsk surrounded. What a perfect time to send in an aid convoy? Some or even most of those supplies might be for civilians, but a portion of them are marked for separatist fighters, and that is precisely what the Ukrainian government is worried about.

according to you guys Russia has already sent troops and weapons into Ukraine so why are you saying it would again happen now with the aid convoy?

you need to get your story straight; but I believe it is not easy to move between all the fake news, false allegations and outright lies about Russian involvement in Ukraine.

originally posted by: demus

originally posted by: DeadSeraph

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: demus

Agreed.

If Putin wanted to invade Ukraine, which would be a pretty stupid thing to do without direct and severe provocation, it wouldn't be by sneaking the tens of thousands of troops needed for an invasion in disguised among an aid convoy that the entire world is looking at under a microscope.

It would be a swift and entirely overt and heavy handed affair, not subtle in the least and everyone watching would know it was happening without question or confusion.

Hiding the size of force and arms needed to invade isn't going to be sent in hiding among aid workers.

Another stab at an anti-Russian propaganda piece lovingly proffered up by the OP, who's well known for his salivating anti-Russian 'stirring the pot' posts.

Nonsense. The whole war thus far has been fought by proxy. The "rebels" are on the ropes and the Ukrainian army has Donetsk surrounded. What a perfect time to send in an aid convoy? Some or even most of those supplies might be for civilians, but a portion of them are marked for separatist fighters, and that is precisely what the Ukrainian government is worried about.

according to you guys Russia has already sent troops and weapons into Ukraine so why are you saying it would again happen now with the aid convoy?

you need to get your story straight; but I believe it is not easy to move between all the fake news, false allegations and outright lies about Russian involvement in Ukraine.

It's called "reinforcement." It's what you do when your side is weakening.

originally posted by: DJW001

originally posted by: demus

originally posted by: DeadSeraph

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: demus

Agreed.

If Putin wanted to invade Ukraine, which would be a pretty stupid thing to do without direct and severe provocation, it wouldn't be by sneaking the tens of thousands of troops needed for an invasion in disguised among an aid convoy that the entire world is looking at under a microscope.

It would be a swift and entirely overt and heavy handed affair, not subtle in the least and everyone watching would know it was happening without question or confusion.

Hiding the size of force and arms needed to invade isn't going to be sent in hiding among aid workers.

Another stab at an anti-Russian propaganda piece lovingly proffered up by the OP, who's well known for his salivating anti-Russian 'stirring the pot' posts.

Nonsense. The whole war thus far has been fought by proxy. The "rebels" are on the ropes and the Ukrainian army has Donetsk surrounded. What a perfect time to send in an aid convoy? Some or even most of those supplies might be for civilians, but a portion of them are marked for separatist fighters, and that is precisely what the Ukrainian government is worried about.

according to you guys Russia has already sent troops and weapons into Ukraine so why are you saying it would again happen now with the aid convoy?

you need to get your story straight; but I believe it is not easy to move between all the fake news, false allegations and outright lies about Russian involvement in Ukraine.

It's called "reinforcement." It's what you do when your side is weakening.

according to your side Russia is providing weapons and men all the time so how did the rebels got into such a bad situation with all that help?

originally posted by: demus

originally posted by: DeadSeraph

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: demus

Agreed.

If Putin wanted to invade Ukraine, which would be a pretty stupid thing to do without direct and severe provocation, it wouldn't be by sneaking the tens of thousands of troops needed for an invasion in disguised among an aid convoy that the entire world is looking at under a microscope.

It would be a swift and entirely overt and heavy handed affair, not subtle in the least and everyone watching would know it was happening without question or confusion.

Hiding the size of force and arms needed to invade isn't going to be sent in hiding among aid workers.

Another stab at an anti-Russian propaganda piece lovingly proffered up by the OP, who's well known for his salivating anti-Russian 'stirring the pot' posts.

Nonsense. The whole war thus far has been fought by proxy. The "rebels" are on the ropes and the Ukrainian army has Donetsk surrounded. What a perfect time to send in an aid convoy? Some or even most of those supplies might be for civilians, but a portion of them are marked for separatist fighters, and that is precisely what the Ukrainian government is worried about.

according to you guys Russia has already sent troops and weapons into Ukraine so why are you saying it would again happen now with the aid convoy?

you need to get your story straight; but I believe it is not easy to move between all the fake news, false allegations and outright lies about Russian involvement in Ukraine.

you can almost see the advisers now sitting in the board room now trying to plan the next piece of bollocks they are going to spin,sitting there saying damn those people they are onto us...

monitoring sited like this one i am sure the think tank is at full steam working out a way to get people to swallow the garbage

a reply to: demus

according to your side Russia is providing weapons and men all the time so how did the rebels got into such a bad situation with all that help?

Where does anyone say that "Russia is providing weapons and men all the time?" If you can't provide a link, please apologize for "misspeaking."

"Seventy pieces Russian military equipment crossed the border"

Seventy pieces Russian military equipment crossed the border with Ukraine during the night. That`s what the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said today.

"We received reports that seventy pieces Russian military equipment have crossed the border with Ukraine tonight," said Linkevicius to the press during his arrival at the emergency meeting of the European Union in Brussels.

"We are deeply concerned about developments in Ukraine. There is much talk about this so-called aid convoy, but at the same time we see that the situation escalates ever further, "said the minister.

Earlier today British and Russian journalists reported that a convoy of Russian military vehicles crossed the Ukrainian border last night in an area where separatists have the power.

It would be a convoy of 23 armored vehicles with license plates of the Russian army, reports The Guardian.

It`s the first time journalists are reporting of a military convoy crosses the border, the rulers in Kiev have been saying for some time that Russia supports Separatists in eastern Ukraine with military equipment. The journalists saw the convoy in the twilight leave for the border at the height of Rostov-on-Don.


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