Ukraine Says Russian Convoy Has Entered Southeast
August 25, 2014
by VOA News
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has dissolved parliament and called for early elections, one month after his ruling coalition government collapsed.
Poroshenko said Monday his actions are within the constitution. He said new parliamentary elections will be held October 26.
The president said last week that any decision regarding parliament would be guided by what the Ukrainian people want. He said they are demanding what he called a "reboot of power."
Earlier Monday, Poroshenko said he is extraordinarily concerned about what he said are Russian military moves into the east.
Ukrainian officials said Russian tanks and armored vehicles crossed into southeastern Ukraine Monday, bearing flags of pro-Russian separatists.
Poroshenko is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday in Minsk.
Poroshenko's office says he told European Council President Herman Van Rompuy by telephone Monday that he also is concerned about Russian plans to send another convoy of purported humanitarian aid into Ukraine.
Russia last week sent more than 200 trucks it says were packed with aid into Ukraine.
The Kyiv government did not approve the shipment and called it a Russian invasion. It also said Russia did not wait for the Red Cross to complete its inspection.
When asked about the convoy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had not heard about it, and added "there is plenty of misinformation" about incursions.
Earlier Monday, Ukrainian officials said they had battled with a convoy of separatist vehicles near a town on the Azov Sea.
Another humanitarian convoy
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Moscow wants to send another humanitarian aid convoy to eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov said Russia sent an official note to Kyiv Sunday with information about the new aid convoy, including information about the type of aid that will be delivered.
Russia has faced extreme criticism from Kyiv and the West for its recent aid convoy to the rebel-held Ukrainian city of Luhansk.
The convoy was conducted without official approval from Kyiv. Russia also did not wait for the International Committee of the Red Cross to complete its inspection procedures.
Lavrov said Russia wants to send the second convoy as soon as possible. He said Russia wants to reach an agreement on "all conditions" for delivering the new round of aid on the same route as the first.
Mariupol is in Ukraine's separatist Donetsk region. But most fighting between separatist rebels and Ukrainian troops has been around the city of Donetsk, the rebels' largest stronghold.
Ukraine has accused Moscow of carrying out regular cross-border shelling of government positions to shore up the rebels who have been increasingly hemmed in by Kyiv's forces.
Last week, Russia's unilateral dispatch of more than 200 trucks carrying supposed aid into Ukraine was denounced by the Ukrainian government as an invasion and condemned by the United States, the European Union and NATO.
The latest developments come ahead of talks planned for Tuesday in Minsk between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
In another development, Ukraine's president has dissolved parliament and called for early parliamentary elections in October, his spokesman said on Monday.
"The next election is on Oct. 26," Sviatoslav Tseholko said in a Twitter post.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters.
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