KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 45 tonnes of humanitarian relief to the crisis-torn region of Donbas, the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service said.
"Today, on July 1, according to the order of the commander of the combined forces, four Red Cross trucks crossed the separation line. The vehicles passed the Novotroitskoe checkpoint on the Kiev-Donetsk route. The International Committee of the Red Cross sent 45 tonnes of construction materials and feed cutters to help citizens in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine," the Border Service said in a statement on late Wednesday.
The ICRC regularly provides Donbas with humanitarian aid.
Kiev launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014 after they refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government and proclaimed independence from the country.
A ceasefire deal between warring parties was signed in Minsk a year later following talks brokered by the leaders of the Normandy four states: Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. Despite this agreement, however, sporadic fighting continues in Donbas.
