MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. More than 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes have been sent to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and to Ukraine since the beginning of the humanitarian operation, the Russian emergencies ministry told TASS on Thursday.

"Since the beginning of the humanitarian operation, the Russian emergencies ministry has delivered more than 2,000 tonnes of aid to people in Donbass and in Ukraine. This week alone, more than 500 tonnes of humanitarian assistance were delivered from the Russian emergencies ministry’s Noginsk and Don rescue centers to Donbass and several regions in Ukraine," it said.

According to the ministry, two centers offering essential services are operating at border checkpoints in the Rostov regions. More than 6,000 people have used their services. Around 400 refugees from Donbass were sent from Taganrog to the Vladimir region on Wednesday. More than 13,000 people have been accommodated in 18 Russian regions since the beginning of evacuation.

Following a dramatic deterioration of the situation in Donbass, Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 announced a decision to recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual aid were signed with their leaders. On February 22, the State Duma and the Federation Council ratified both documents and Putin signed the respective laws on the same day. On February 24, Putin said that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country.