MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. For a year after sending the first humanitarian convoy to Donbas, Russian Emergencies Ministry has been providing assistance to those who suffered from military actions in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions on a regular basis, saving them from humanitarian catastrophe.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s press service told TASS that the 35th humanitarian convoy for Donbas is currently being assembled in Russia’s Rostov Region. It will be sent to Donetsk and Luhansk Regions in the next few days. It will traditionally include food and medicine, along with necessities — all those things that people in Donbas lack because of the blockade imposed on the region by Ukrainian authorities.
Russia sends around 2-3 convoys to Donbas per month. In a year, Russian Emergencies Ministry’s trucks have travelled almost 90,000 kilometers. A total of 34 convoys, each consisting of more than 100 trucks, delivered more than 42,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Donetsk and Luhansk — food, necessities, medicine, building materials, educational literature. The emergencies ministry said that at least 200 people accompany each humanitarian convoy, including rescuers, medical workers, psychologists and technicians.
Humanitarian cargoes are assembled from Rosrezerv federal agency for state reserves from different regions — Moscow, Torzhok, Ivanovo, Tver, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Azov, Rostov-on-Don. Humanitarian aid is also collected by public organizations, entrepreneurs and individuals who are rendering targeted assistance to socially significant institutions in Donbas, such as universities.
Russian Emergencies Ministry’s head Vladimir Puchkov repeatedly stated that the ministry observes all international norms when preparing and sending humanitarian convoys. The ministry’s deputy head Vladimir Stepanov said earlier that three humanitarian convoys will be sent to Donbas in August.