A large Russian convoy reportedly carrying humanitarian aid has arrived close to the border with eastern Ukraine, near a crossing point controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The route of the 280-truck convoy, which set off from the Moscow region on Tuesday, has been closely followed by journalists, observers and the international community amid fears it is a Trojan horse-style military invasion.

Ukraine has said it will not allow the trucks, escorted by Russian soldiers, to enter its territory. But Moscow-backed rebels are in charge of the Izvarino crossing point, near where the convoy has stopped.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was informed by Moscow last week of the shipment, said it still had no details of where the convoy was heading. Its destination appears to be Luhansk, one of two major cities still controlled by rebels, and the scene of fierce fighting between the Ukrainian army and separatist forces.



The convoy appears to have halted 25 miles (40km) away from the international border. The Guardian’s Shaun Walker is with the convoy.

We have arrived at the turnoff towards Krasnodon and Luhansk, Ukraine... The front of the Russian aid convoy is turning down it. Wow... — Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) August 14, 2014

He sent this dispatch at 11.43am London time:

The convoy of military vehicles which had been hastily repainted in white colours set off early on Thursday morning from Voronezh where they had waited for nearly 24 hours, and shortly after 3pm local time the convoy took a turn west towards Ukraine and the city of Luhansk. The Ukrainians had lost control of their side of the border crossing earlier this year, making it unlikely Kiev authorities would sanction a crossing at the point. The convoy came to a halt shortly after in a field beside the side of the road. Two military helicopters flew low overhead. Separately to the convoy, running along the main road, there have been frequent sightings of Russian military units, including a tank and artillery. Locals said this had been a regular sight over the last few months.

Several journalists are also following it. The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg tweeted:



We have turned off the M4 highway, the turning to the Russian town of Donetsk near the border; lorries are parking in a field — Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) August 14, 2014

The New York Times’s Andrew Roth ‏also confirmed that the military trucks, repainted white by Russian soldiers, had halted temporarily:

Turn gives Russian aide quickest route to Lugansk via Krasnodon via highway АН-70. About 40km to border, first city is izvarnye. — Andrew Roth (@ARothNYT) August 14, 2014

These look more like repainted army trucks (for troop transport?) have ridden inside a green one of these pic.twitter.com/AcHenTXVtk — Andrew Roth (@ARothNYT) August 14, 2014

He adds:

Trucks parked up in an orderly line, helicopters overhead and almost no security from journos. — Andrew Roth (@ARothNYT) August 14, 2014

The Kremlin has insisted the trucks contain much-needed aid for the besieged residents of Luhansk, who have been trapped without water and electricity for 12 days. But there are fears the convoy may be bringing fuel and ammunition to the separatists, who have suffered a series of defeats in recent weeks. The Financial Times’s Courtney Weaver, who is with the convoy, said she had spotted military vehicles joining the procession:



So two of these babies just pulled up behind the convoy line pic.twitter.com/EVyACn40HQ — Courtney Weaver (@courtneymoscow) August 14, 2014

She reported two military helicopters in the sky:



The 2 Russian military helicopters are back, so close can see the red star. They've just landed in here pic.twitter.com/RDfutGp3mx — Courtney Weaver (@courtneymoscow) August 14, 2014

And a convoy of about 100 “white dots” – the lorries – now stopped:



Those white dots are about 100 convoy trucks in front of us. We seem to be stopping in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky pic.twitter.com/maWKdLFJYG — Courtney Weaver (@courtneymoscow) August 14, 2014

Ukraine’s Euromaidan PR Twitter account noted that the photo revealed scorch marks from Grad missiles, allegedly fired into the country by the Russian military. Ukraine alleges that the Russians have been shelling Ukrainian positions from across the border for months. It also accuses the Kremlin of supplying arms and heavy weapons to the rebels, many of whom are Russian citizens.



#Russian convoy of white lorries vs fields burnt from GRAD shelling on the background @ProtestSPb pic.twitter.com/bEtCWnJ7Wp |EMPR — Euromaidan PR (@EuromaidanPR) August 14, 2014

Here’s a useful map which shows the convoy approaching Kamensk-Shakhtinsky:



Convoy about here, some 40 mins driving from separatist-controlled border, according to journos following pic.twitter.com/rvkHNjDGE3 — Glenn Kates (@gkates) August 14, 2014

Meanwhile, there were reports of shelling in Donetsk. The Dutch reporter Harald Doornbas said the Ukrainian army was firing at the centre of the city, sending residents fleeing for cover:



Ukrainian army now shelling center #Donetsk. Loud explosions, ppl running, I can see smoke from nearby building: pic.twitter.com/gL765FaXuJ — Harald Doornbos (@HaraldDoornbos) August 14, 2014

Girl in tears &carrying her cat passes me now & tries to escape after shells hit her street in center #Donetsk: pic.twitter.com/vPPvmr95J3 — Harald Doornbos (@HaraldDoornbos) August 14, 2014

According to the Ukrainian side, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe had observed numerous examples of people in uniform crossing into Ukraine from Russia via separatist-held territory. This had taken place at the Russian checkpoint in Gukovo.

The Ukrainian government spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on Thursday:

Throughout the week, the [OSCE] mission documented numerous groups of young men in military attire, who crossed the border both ways. The observers also saw ambulances evacuating wounded supporters of the so-called “PRD” [the rebel Donetsk People’s Republic] several times. In the last three days, instances of Russian military Mi-24 helicopter flights over the checkpoint have increased in frequency. During daytime, the observers claimed that the helicopters did not cross into the Ukrainian airspace in the zone visible from the checkpoint.

The Ukrainian government announced on Thursday it was dispatching its own aid convoy to the region. The infrastructure minister, Maxim Burbak, said three convoys with a total of 75 trucks were transporting humanitarian aid from Kiev and the cities of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk. He said the vehicles would be carrying around 800 tons of aid, including grain, sugar and tinned food, destined eventually for Luhansk.

Lysenko said the aid would be handed over to the Red Cross.