Hundreds of trucks from a bitterly disputed Russian aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine rolled back across the border Saturday into Russia but questions about alleged Russian artillery in Ukraine still remained. NATO said Friday it has mounting evidence that Russian troops are operating inside Ukraine and launching artillery attacks at Ukrainian troops from Ukrainian soil as well as from Russia. Moscow's ambassador to the U.N. vehemently rejected that accusation.
Paul Picard, head of the border observation mission for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, told journalists in the Russian town of Donetsk that all the vehicles that had crossed into Ukraine had returned to Russia by mid-afternoon. Deputy Emergencies Minister Eduard Chizhkov was quoted as saying 227 vehicles had taken part.
Russia said the trucks carried only food, water, generators and sleeping bags to the hard-hit rebel stronghold of Luhansk. Russia had unilaterally sent the trucks into Ukraine through a rebel-held border point Friday, saying it had lost patience with Ukraine's delaying tactics. Ukraine promptly called the act an invasion.
IN-DEPTH
- U.S. Threatens Sanctions Unless Russia Removes Convoy From Ukraine
- Putin, Obama Have Spoken on the Phone Just Ten Times This Year
- Russia Sends In Aid Convoy Without Ukraine's OK
