By Europe correspondent Barbara Miller Thursday 14 August 2014
Photo: Russia says the convoy is carrying much-needed food, water and medicine. (Reuters)
Related Story: US backs Ukraine's move to block Russian aid convoy
Russia's foreign ministry has described comments made by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop about the Russian aid convoy to Ukraine as "absurd" and "irresponsible".
According to the Itar-Tass news agency the Russian foreign ministry were frustrated by the comments made by Julie Bishop suggesting a convoy of several hundred trucks headed for eastern Ukraine could be a pretext for direct military intervention.
Itar-Tass quotes the statement as saying that "burdened by their own oversized ambitions, some members of the current Australian Government have completely lost an adequate picture of the developments in Ukraine".
"Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has gone farther than others in making irresponsible innuendoes against our country even though one would think that her position presupposes building bridges between countries, not destroying them," the ministry said.
The convoy of 280 Russian trucks is heading for Ukraine after an agreement was reached on an international humanitarian relief mission.
Video: Russia criticises Australia for 'absurd' comments on aid convoy (ABC News)
Itar-Tass news agency said the convoy was carrying 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including 400 tonnes of cereals, 100 tonnes of sugar, 62 tonnes of baby food, 54 tonnes of medical equipment and medicine, 12,000 sleeping bags and 69 generators of various sizes.
Thousands of people are believed to be short of water, electricity and medical aid in Donetsk and in the border town of Lugansk due to bitter fighting involving air strikes and missile attacks.
Kiev and its Western allies say Russia, which opposes the new leadership's pro-Western policies, has been funnelling tanks, missiles and other heavy weapons to the rebels for months. Moscow denies this.
Meanwhile, fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, with the United Nations saying the death toll appears to have doubled in the past two weeks to more than 2,000.
ABC/wires
