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Moscow Accused Of 'Provocative Acts' After Convoy Enters Ukraine Without Permission

Moscow Accused Of 'Provocative Acts' After Convoys Enter Ukraine Without Permission
PA/Huffington Post UK
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Britain has accused Moscow of "provocative acts" after Russian lorries said to contain humanitarian aid entered Ukraine without permission. More than 100 vehicles have made their way into rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine without approval from Kiev or involvement of the international committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Ukraine has said the move amounts to a "direct invasion" and there has been widespread international condemnation of the "further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty by Russia". Russian president Vladimir Putin said the vehicles, reported to be carrying food, water, generators and sleeping bags, went in after "clear procrastination by Ukraine".

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Europe minister David Lidington warned Russia that it risks "further damaging consequences" if it continues to escalate tensions. Mr Lidington said: "I am deeply concerned that this Russian convoy has entered Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian government. This is a provocative act that violates previous understandings that the government of Ukraine should consent to the convoy entering Ukrainian territory, with the ICRC ensuring that the convoy meets genuine humanitarian needs.

"The UK fully supports efforts to get aid to those in eastern Ukraine - indeed we are making an additional £1m available to support the international aid effort. But this needs to be done in the proper way with Red Cross involvement and in support of Ukraine's own humanitarian efforts.

"The UK strongly urges Russia to avoid any and all provocative acts, which will only serve to increase instability in the region and lead to further damaging consequences for Russia's relationship with Europe. Instead, the Russians must make every effort to find a political solution to the crisis by engaging with the Ukrainian government and the intensive diplomacy aimed at a peaceful resolution to a dangerous and tense situation in Eastern Ukraine and at the Russia-Ukraine border."

Fighting in Ukraine
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Cadets of a Ukrainian military academy crawl under barbed wire as part of exercises near the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on Aug. 16, 2014. (ALEXEY KRAVTSOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ALEXEY KRAVTSOV via Getty Images)
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Ukrainian soldiers charge a Grad multiple rocket launcher system near the eastern Ukrainian city of Shchastya in the Lugansk region on Aug. 18, 2014. (ALEKSEY CHERNYSHEV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ALEKSEY CHERNYSHEV via Getty Images)
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On Aug. 16, 2014, a man shows his neighbor's apartment after it was burned down from a reported missile strike in the residential area of Lysychansk, Ukraine during fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian rebels. (AP Photo/Vitnija Saldava) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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On Aug. 16, 2014, a pile of rubble stands in front of a multi-story building in the residential area of Lysychansk, Ukraine after a reported missile strike during fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian rebels. (AP Photo/Vitnija Saldava) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Signs of explosions are visible during combat between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian militants in Yasynuvata, a suburb of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, on Aug. 19, 2014. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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On Aug. 17, 2014 in Kiev, Ukraine, friends and relatives say goodbye to military volunteers being sent to the eastern part of the country to join the ranks of the "Azov" special battalion fighting against pro-Russian separatists. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In Kiev, Ukraine on Aug. 17, 2014, volunteers take an oath of allegiance to Ukraine before being sent to the eastern part of the country to join the ranks of the "Azov" special battalion fighting against pro-Russian separatists. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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On Aug. 16, 2014, passengers look through a bus window at a destroyed car after shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Max Vetrov) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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The drawing of an eight-year old Ukrainian boy, depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and an Ukrainian tank, is displayed on a billboard in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Aug. 20, 2014. (YURKO DYACHYSHYN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YURKO DYACHYSHYN via Getty Images)
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A Russian military truck carries an MSTA-S self-propelled howitzer from the Russia-Ukrainian border control point in Donetsk on Aug. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A column of Ukrainian paratroopers stops for a rest in Druzhkivka, part of the country's eastern Donetsk region, on Aug. 19, 2014. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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Soldiers eat ice cream as a column of Ukrainian paratroopers stops for a rest in Druzhkivka, part of the Donetsk region, on Aug. 19, 2014. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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A Ukrainian MI-24 helicopter flies near the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Aug. 19, 2014. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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People hide in a bomb shelter in an orphanage during reported shelling of Makiyivka, Ukraine on Aug. 19, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIMITAR DILKOFF via Getty Images)
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Children and educators hide in a bomb shelter in an orphanage during reported shelling of Makiyivka, Ukrane on August 19, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIMITAR DILKOFF via Getty Images)
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Ukrainian soldiers walk in a trench as they guard their position near the eastern Ukrainian city of Shchastya on Aug. 18, 2014. (ALEKSEY CHERNYSHEV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ALEKSEY CHERNYSHEV via Getty Images)
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A member of the Donbass battalion, a volunteer militia group devoted to ensuring a united Ukraine, cleans his Kalashnikov machine gun on Aug. 18, 2014 in the eastern city of Popasna. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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A Ukrainian soldier gestures as he talks with children on Aug. 18, 2014 in the eastern city of Popasna. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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Russian soldiers talk to each other on the top of a tank outside Donetsk on Aug. 18, 2014. (DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV via Getty Images)
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Drivers of a Russian humanitarian convoy wait at a checkpoint at the Ukrainian border outside the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in the Rostov region of Russia on Aug. 17, 2014. (DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV via Getty Images)
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Firemen stand amongst burnt houses after reported shelling in Donetsk on Aug. 16, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIMITAR DILKOFF via Getty Images)
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A pro-Russia militant stands guard on a road near Donetsk, Ukraine on Aug. 18, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIMITAR DILKOFF via Getty Images)
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Armed soldiers of the Ukrainian special forces stand during a military operation near Debaltseve, in the Donetsk region, on Aug. 16, 2014. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)
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A Ukrainian serviceman crawls behind a car during a shooting near the checkpoint of Debaltseve, in the region of Donetsk, on Aug. 16, 2014. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANATOLII STEPANOV via Getty Images)

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