You're reading: Rinat Akhmetov’s headquarters asks Poroshenko to take control of delivery of humanitarian aid to Donbas

Rinat Akhmetov's humanitarian headquarters has addressed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, asking him to take control over the situation regarding the delivery of humanitarian and charitable aid to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“We address to you, as a guarantor of the Constitution with the request to: 1. Take control over the situation over delivering the humanitarian and charitable aid to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 2. Facilitate a secure delivery of the whole humanitarian and charitable aid intended for civilians in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” reads the headquarters’ statement addressed to the Ukrainian president.

The headquarters also urged Poroshenko to participate in the development of unified and transparent rules and mechanisms for delivering aid within Ukraine.

“Such rules will allow the provision of enough aid and won’t let this process be monopolized,” the headquarters stated.

The humanitarian headquarters expressed assurance that action by Ukraine’s president would show Ukrainian citizens and international partners Ukraine’s unconditional adherence to the principles of law and its international obligations.

In addition, the headquarters noted the incident that occured on Dec. 16 near Horlivka, Pokrovsky district, Dnipropetrovsk region.

“Rinat Akhmetov’s humanitarian aid with food [transported] by 21 trucks was on route from Dnipropetrovsk to Donetsk. A group of armed people, who called themselves representatives of Right Sector, stooped the trucks, and made headquarters representative Denys Denysenko turn them around at gunpoint,” the headquarters reported.

According to the humanitarian headquarters, the Right Sector members didn’t check the contents of the trucks, and said they wouldn’t let any vehicles pass.

The headquarters also added that representatives of the Ukrainian Emergency Service and OSCE had examined the humanitarian cargo and sealed the trucks in the presence of journalists, and that the aforementioned actions must be considered a violation of law.

Rinat Akhmetov’s humanitarian headquarters addressed the Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Interior Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine with the request “to take decisive measures to identify those guilty of illegal actions and bring them to justice.”

As reported, twenty-one humanitarian trucks of Rinat Akhmetov’s Foundation routed to militant-controlled territories in Donbas were due to pass through a checkpoint on the administrative border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions near the village of Iskra, Donetsk region, several hours ago. The checkpoint is not subordinated to the army operational staff. It is manned only by fighters of volunteer battalions.

The trucks were examined by specialists from the OSCE and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. They are carrying macaroni, flour, vegetable oil, cereals and sugar.

At the same time, the Samopomich (Self Reliance) party deputy, Donbas battalion commander Semen Semenchenko, said that volunteer battalions would not let humanitarian cargo reach militant-controlled territories in Donbas until captives are released.

“Humanitarian convoys will not be allowed to pass to terrorists until prisoners are released. The Donbas battalion will do so in the Luhansk region. We will continue to help Kryvbas, Dnipro, Right Sector and Aidar in the Donetsk region,” he wrote on Facebook on Dec.16 evening.

The parliamentarian claimed that the volunteers had recently blocked 40 humanitarian trucks. He did not say where this occurred. “We have just said goodbye to 40 trucks,” Semenchenko said.