Russian aid convoy leaves Ukraine

Hundreds of Russian aid trucks returned home from rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Saturday, highlighting a dire need for long-term assistance to the region where homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by months of fighting.

Ahead of a much-anticipated meeting on Tuesday between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian officials and expressed hope for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Russia unilaterally sent hundreds of aid trucks into Ukraine through a rebel-held border point Friday, saying it had lost patience with Ukraine's delaying tactics, a move that Ukraine promptly described as an invasion.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, all the vehicles had returned to Russia, Paul Picard of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe told reporters in the Russian town of Donetsk. A Russian emergency official said 227 vehicles had taken part.

An AP reporter on the Ukrainian side of the border was able to look inside about 40 of the white-tarpaulined tractor-trailers and confirmed they were empty. Russia said the trucks carried only food, water, generators and sleeping bags to the hard-hit rebel stronghold of Luhansk.

Ukraine and others - including the U.S., the European Union and NATO - denounced the Russian move as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. Kiev and Western countries also suggested the convoy could be used to smuggle supplies and reinforcements to pro-Russian separatists fighting the government.

It remained unclear, however, what the Russian convoy had actually delivered, since it only arrived late Friday afternoon. Unloading all those trucks in just a few hours in a war-battered region represents a sizeable task. AP journalists following the convoy said rattling sounds Friday indicated some of the trucks were not fully loaded

In the Northwest Territories, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the convoy 'disgraceful,' and dismissed it as a military incursion in the guise of humanitarian aid.

In those towns and cities recaptured by Ukrainian forces from the rebels, the need for something more long-term than a one-time delivery of food and water is glaring. Assistance has been trickling in from the government and international donors, but it is still not enough to help rebuild livelihoods destroyed by war.

Residents in the city of Slovyansk, which endured a weekslong siege before the rebels left town in July, were caught between government forces and the separatists for several months and are now largely left on their own after devastating artillery strikes.

Valerie Amos, who oversees UN emergency assistance programs, visited Slovyansk on Saturday to inspect aid efforts there.

'This is particularly difficult in some areas in the eastern part of the country where there is ongoing fighting,' Amos told news3blog.blogspot.com.

Rebels reject aid

Rebels have rejected overtures by authorities to provide territory under their control with much-needed aid.

'What help do we see? Everybody is building now off their own back.' - Yevgeny Bezkorovainy, Slovyansk resident

Rows of burned-out houses on the northern fringes of Slovyansk stood as a reminder of the impact of the fighting. Owners could be seen Saturday clearing out the debris from their partially damaged or totally charred homes. Few seem confident they will be able to repair their houses anytime soon.

Yevgeny Bezkorovainy, an unemployed 25-year-old resident of Slovyansk, said his household didn't have enough money to repair their shrapnel-scarred roof.

'Somebody said they would help, but it has been two months already, but what help do we see? Everybody is building now off their own back,' he said.

One of the countries pledging aid to Ukraine is Germany. Chancellor Merkel held talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev on Saturday and promised $660 million in loan guarantees to support private investment in infrastructure and schools in war-struck areas.

Merkel urged a political solution to the crisis three days before Poroshenko will be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk in their first encounter since June. Merkel said she was looking forward to the outcome of those talks and expressed 'hope that at least a step forward will be reached there.'

Poroshenko said Ukraine is anxious to bring peace as soon as possible and solve the conflict by negotiations, but 'not at the expense of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine.'

Asked what message he intended to convey to Putin, Poroshenko said 'take away your armed people from our territory and I can promise peace will come to Ukraine very soon.'

WIth files from CBC News and Reuters