Russia ready to send third humanitarian convoy to Ukraine

Russia is ready to send a third batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine's southeastern regions within days, the country's Emergency Situations Ministry said Wednesday.
"We are ready to continue this (relief) effort. By the end of the week we will be able to continue the effort if certain decisions are made," Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Stepanov said, adding that such work must continue by all means.
"The campaign to collect humanitarian aid is carried out across the nation, with an aim of helping Ukrainians get prepared for winter," he said.
Stepanov also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to play a more active role in the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
"The ICRC should take a firmer position so that we would not be stranded on the border for three weeks," the Interfax news agency quoted Stepanov as saying.
The second batch of humanitarian aid arrived Saturday in Ukraine's eastern city of Lugansk, following the first convoy carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid on Aug. 22.
The European Union on Monday said Russia's second convoy sent without consent of or inspection by the Ukrainian authorities was "illegal."