Bearing in mind numerous violations by the Russian Federation of the state border regime of Ukraine and continued illegal supply of weapons, armored vehicles and mercenaries from Russia, Ukraine has solid grounds for concerns that the convoy may trigger further escalation and lead to deterioration of the situation for the people in Donbas.

Upon our requests the international partners have already agreed to provide the Government of Ukraine with the assistance and support in addressing the urgent humanitarian needs and rebuilding of Donbas. The Inter-Agency Coordination Committee comprised of representatives of the Ukrainian Government, the UN Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross is successfully operating in Ukraine.

We would like to remind the Russian side that under the international law a request from Ukraine as the host state is needed for humanitarian aid to be provided. The list of humanitarian aid items needs to be agreed with the Ukrainian authorities, and their delivery to Ukraine must be arranged via the channels of the United Nations or International Committee of the Red Cross. Besides, any delivery of humanitarian aid to the areas that are under temporary control of terrorists would be possible only if agreed by the Tripartite Contact Group with the actors on the ground. This position is fully shared by the international community and was re-confirmed at today's meeting of the UN Security Council.

We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from any attempt to send humanitarian convoys to Ukraine without complying with the conditions above.

Our international partners are encouraged to convince Russia to follow this logic of actions and avoid any steps that could lead to the deterioration of the situation in Donbas.