In Red Cross Deal, Russia to Send Aid Convoy to East Ukraine

Ukraine Made a Deal With Red Cross to Handle International Convoys

Though the deal wasn’t directly made between Russia and Ukraine, a roundabout agreement was reached that is going to see Russia send a humanitarian aid convoy into eastern Ukraine, despite loud US opposition to the plan.

Ukraine made a deal with the Red Cross to handle foreign aid shipments to the besieged east, and Russia made a deal with the Red Cross to provide one such convoy.

The Red Cross said Russia could send the convoy so long as there were no armed escorts, and they reported talks with the Ukrainian government on the safety on the convoy.

That’s no small matter, with the Ukrainian ultranationalists pushing a very anti-Russian tone lately, and “volunteer” fighters involved in the military’s invasion of the east often include west Ukrainians with ties to the ultranationalists.

The US has warned Russia not to send humanitarian aid to easterners, claiming it would be a pretext for direct military intervention, echoing the Obama Administration’s own strategy in recent wars.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.