Russia Extends Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine; West Wary of the Move

President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia was sending humanitarian aid to the strife-torn eastern Ukraine despite warnings by the western countries not to use it as a ploy to send troops to the region.

Recent reports indicate that Russia has amassed 45,000 troops on its border and according to  NATO, there was a "high probability" that President Putin was considering military intervention in the region where Ukraine is slowly attaining an upper hand against pro-Russian separatists, reports Reuters.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso  apparently made European sentiments about the issue very clear in a telephonic  call to President Monday.  "President Barroso warned against any unilateral military actions in Ukraine, under any pretext, including humanitarian," the Commission said in a statement.

Kremlin's reply was, "It was noted that the Russian side, in collaboration with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, is sending an aid convoy to Ukraine," Reuters reports.

The Russian Foreign Minister confirmed on TV that Russia had entered into an agreement with the Ukrainian government and the Red Cross to provide humanitarian aid to the Russian speaking region of eastern Ukraine, reports BBC..

President Petro Poroshenko's press secretary, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, issued a statement that a humanitarian mission to Luhansk had been agreed with the Red Cross along with the EU, Russia, Germany and others, according to the BBC.

The United Nations said more than 1,100 people have been killed including civilians in the four months since pro-Russian rebels seized territory in the eastern border region with Russia.