Michael MacKay, Radio Lemberg, 28.01.2018
Russia has sent the 73rd truck convoy of supplies to its occupation army in Donbas. Like all the convoys, the trucks were not inspected at the Ukraine-Russia border. Like all the convoys, the Russians faked the trucks as carrying ‘humanitarian’ supplies. Russia lies – all the time.
Russia sent the first truck convoy of matériel to its army invading Ukraine on 22 August 2014. At the time, it seemed that this was a “red line” and a clear act of war. Although the Ukrainian government raised the alarm, no other Western government gave this outrage of Russian aggression the attention it deserved. Having gotten away with the first resupply convoy, Putin has now gotten away with 72 more in the almost four years that Russia has been invading Ukraine in Crimea and Donbas.
The truck convoys cross the international border between Ukraine and Russia, that lies between Rostov region on the Russian side and Luhansk and Donetsk regions on the Ukrainian side. This section of the border was seized by the Russian armed forces in the summer of 2014 and has been under the sole control of the Russian Federation since. The truck convoys are not inspected by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. They’re not inspected by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Although Russia lies and calls the convoys ‘humanitarian’ the trucks are not inspected by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Each time a convoy arrives in Russia-occupied Donbas, shelling by the invaders picks up. It’s regular like clockwork. Nevertheless, Russian propaganda continues to tout the supply of weapons, ammunition, and matériel to Putin’s army as ‘humanitarian.’ With the 73rd convoy, an all-out effort has been made to present the convoy as consisting of 400 tonnes of relief supplies, including baby food. Dozens of tweets were sent by Russian information warriors, all with words and phrases like “humanitarian” and “food packages for babies and toddlers” and “to the people in need.” War supplies described as baby food: the epitome of the “Big Lie.” No images of this ‘baby food’ are being shown along with Russia’s propaganda, but rather the usual photos of covered trucks. As is usual with Russia’s war supply convoys, the white trucks are driven to army depots in occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where their cargo is transferred to green trucks and then driven to the battlefront.
Supplying its invasion army across the international border is an act of war by Russia. The Kremlin is fully aware of this, which is why it puts out ridiculous “Big Lie” propaganda about weapons, ammunition and matériel being ‘humanitarian’ supplies. Effete Western leaders know this too, which is why they studiously ignore this act of Russian aggression. In the name of appeasement, Western leaders did not stop the first invasion re-supply mission in August 2014 and they haven’t stopped the 72 which followed that one.
Russia’s 73rd convoy is deadly. Ukrainian defenders of the homeland and of Europe will die because the convoy was allowed to cross the Ukraine-Russia border and nobody stopped it. This is the 73rd time Western leaders have been humiliated by Putin. Russia’s invasion of Europe in Crimea and Donbas will go on and on, until one of these convoys that feed Russian aggression is stopped.