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Russia’s humanitarian aid convoy heads for Donbass

The convoy consists of more than 170 vehicles carrying over 1,900 tonnes of humanitarian cargos

MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry convoy with humanitarian aid, including the vehicles of the Red Cross, has left for eastern Ukraine, a representative of the National Crisis Management Centre said on Thursday.

"It departed from the Donskoy rescue centre in the Rostov region at 04:00 a.m. Moscow time and is now on the way to the border," he said. The convoy consists of more than 170 vehicles carrying over 1,900 tonnes of humanitarian cargos.

The convoy is carrying materials for the spring sowing season, foodstuffs, medicines, essentials, construction materials to restore the destroyed facilities, as well as books and sports equipment for schools and universities in Donbass.

For the first time, the vehicles of the Moscow branch of the all-Russian Red Cross with foodstuffs and medical equipment are part of the Emergencies Ministry’s convoy.

The humanitarian convoy will be divided into two equal parts between the Lugansk and Donetsk regions. On Wednesday, journalists had a chance to have a look at the cargos.

Since August last year, Russian Emergencies Ministry’s convoys have delivered more than 25,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the citizens of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

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