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 Kiev and Western governments warned Moscow against any attempt to
turn the operation into a military intervention by stealth in a
region facing a humanitarian crisis after four months of warfare.
"This cargo will be reloaded onto other transport vehicles (at the
border) by the Red Cross," Ukrainian presidential aide Valery Chaly
said.
"We will not allow any escort by the emergencies ministry of Russia
or by the military (onto Ukrainian territory). Everything will be
under the control of the Ukrainian side," he told journalists.
Russian media said the column of 280 trucks had left from near
Moscow and it would take a couple of days for it to make the 1,000
km (620 mile) journey to Ukraine's eastern regions where rebel
fighters seek union with Russia.
Western countries believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who
has whipped up nationalist fervor in Russia through the
state-controlled media since annexing Crimea in March, might be
spurred to fresh action since separatists in their main redoubt of
Donetsk are now encircled by Kiev government forces.
 Rossiya 24 TV showed a 3-km long line of containers and trucks
loaded with crates of water stretched along a road with workers in a
light summer wear of shorts and shirts loading sacks of aid. A
Russian orthodox priest marched across a line of trucks, spraying
them with holy water before they left.
"It has all been agreed with Ukraine," Business FM radio quoted
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, as saying of an operation
publicized with fanfare on Russian TV channels.
The U.S., French and Australian governments voiced concern that
Russia, sole international supporter of rebels in Ukraine's
Russian-speaking east, could use the humanitarian deliveries to
carry out a covert operation to help fighters who appear to be on
the verge of defeat.
With Ukraine reporting Russia has massed 45,000 troops on its
border, NATO said on Monday that there was a "high probability"
Moscow might now intervene militarily in Ukraine.
Itar-Tass news agency said the convoy was carrying 2,000 tons of
humanitarian aid. It included 400 tons of cereals, 100 tons of
sugar, 62 tons of baby food, 54 tons of medical equipment and
medicine, 12,000 sleeping bags and 69 generators of various sizes.
BITTER FIGHTING
Thousands of people are believed to be short of water, electricity
and medical aid in Donetsk and in the border town of Luhansk due to
bitter fighting, involving air strikes and missile attacks.
U.N. agencies say well over 1,000 people have been killed, including
government forces, rebels and civilians, in the conflict in which a
Malaysian airliner was downed on July 17 with the deaths of all 298
people on board.
Kiev and its Western allies say Russia, which opposes the new
leadership's pro-Western policies, has been funneling tanks,
missiles and other heavy weapons to the rebels for months. Moscow
denies this.
Suspicious of Russian intentions, Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko has said Ukraine will allow Russian aid into the country
only as part of an international relief mission, under the auspices
of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and involving the
United States, European Union and other states.
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In Geneva, an ICRC spokesperson said: "We still need clarification,
details on the content (of the convoy) and type of transportation
and storage needed." With the humanitarian crisis growing by the
day in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin might welcome the opportunity to
garner sympathy if the Russian convoy arrives at the border and is
turned away by the Ukrainians.
A former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, who has been involved
in tentative mediation with the rebels said on Tuesday the convoy
would travel down through north-eastern Ukraine to Luhansk under an
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) escort.
"TRANSPARENT ARTIFICE"
Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
said: "Our hope is that in the next days and weeks, we can find a
way for President Poroshenko and Ukraine to be able to work with the
Russians to provide the humanitarian assistance necessary in the
east."
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters: "Any
intervention by Russia into Ukraine under the guise of an
humanitarian crisis would be seen for the transparent artifice that
it is and Australia would condemn (it) in the strongest possible
terms."
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: "Wemust be
extremely careful because this (the convoy) could be a cover for the
Russians to install themselves near Lugansk and Donetsk and put us
before a done deed."
"This (convoy) is only possible, only justifiable, if the Red Cross
authorizes it," he told France Info Radio.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that any Russian
intervention without Kiev's consent would be unacceptable and
violate international law. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also warned on
Monday "against any unilateral military actions in Ukraine, under
any pretext, including humanitarian".
(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev, Stephanie
Ulmer-Nebehay in Geneva and Polina Devitt in Moscow; Writing by
Richard Balmforth)
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