国际英语新闻:Russian humanitarian convoy moving toward Ukrainian border

MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The first 16 trucks of a Russian humanitarian aid convoy has started moving toward Ukrainian border on Sunday, local media reported.

The trucks would approach the border on Sunday, but they would not cross the border, the Itar-Tass news agency quoted a representative of the contractor transport company as saying.

More trucks are expected to be moving from the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in Russia's Rostov Region, where they were parked, throughout the day to the border checkpoint.

Representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were expected to go to the Donetsk border crossing, the company's spokesperson said.

"We expect representatives of that international organization to come to the border crossing station today," according to the spokesperson.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were inspecting the Russian trucks still parking in the town, where they had stayed for days awaiting the permission of the Ukrainian authorities to cross the border, the Itar-Tass reported earlier, quoting Pascal Cuttat, head of the ICRC regional delegation.

The Ukrainian government said in a statement late Saturday night, that Kiev recognized the supplies dispatched by Russia as humanitarian aid.

"Ukrainian Social Policy Minister Lyudmila Denisova has signed a decree recognizing the ICRC cargo as relief aid," the statement said, adding that the ministry received a letter signed by Cuttat on Aug. 16 enumerating the relief items.

Earlier on Saturday, the ICRC notified Kiev of the inspection results of the cargo transported by the Russian convoy, according to the Itar-Tass.

A 280-truck Russian convoy carrying about 2,000 tons of relief supplies, including food, medicine, sleeping bags and electricity generators, has been parked about 30 km from the border with Ukraine's Lugansk region since Thursday.

According to the press service of Ukraine's anti-terror operation, 41 Ukrainian frontier guards and 18 customs officers began inspecting the cargo on Friday. Once cleared, the humanitarian aid will go to the violence-hit Lugansk region.