Russia Masses Military Vehicles as Aid Convoy Waits near Ukraine Border
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Dozens of heavy Russian military vehicles massed on Friday near the border with Ukraine, where a huge Russian convoy with humanitarian aid came to a halt as Moscow and Kiev struggled to agree on border crossing procedures.
Russia says it is carrying 2,000 tons of water, baby food and other aid for people in east Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists are fighting government forces.
Kiev and some Western officials have said they believe the convoy could be a cover for a Russian military incursion - a claim Moscow has described as "absurd".
On Thursday, the convoy of some 280 trucks stopped in open fields near the Russian town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, about 20 km (12 miles) from the border with Ukraine, reuters reported.
It was still stationed there on Friday morning and a Reuters reporter at the scene saw a dozen armored personnel carriers (APCs) on the move not far from the convoy.
Another Reuters reporter saw two dozen APCs moving near the border with Ukraine on Thursday night.
The Guardian reported on Friday its reporter saw several APCs crossing the border with Ukraine.
The newspaper said the move was unlikely to represent a full-scale official Russian invasion, but it was clear evidence that Russian troops are active inside Ukraine's borders.
Kiev and NATO have said they fear Russia will invade east Ukraine after massing more than 40,000 troops near the border. Russia says it is conducting military exercises and has no plans to invade. It also denies supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine with arms and funds.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia over its role in east Ukraine and the earlier annexation of Ukraine's region of Crimea, in what has become the worst crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
