By Kieran Corcoran For Mailonline
Cargo? The left truck appears not to be carrying a significant amount of cargo, while the right one is filled with sacks of aid.
- Russians say the vehicles are carrying food and supplies for besieged rebel regions - but Ukraine demanded checks
- Ukraine's own aid shipment - 75 trucks in total - today began to reach Lugansk after setting out yesterday
Trucks in Russia's controversial 'aid convoy' bound for rebel-held Ukraine are largely empty, despite Moscow's claims the fleet of trucks are crammed with desperately-needed aid.
The convoy, which set off from the Russian capital on Tuesday, was finally opened to photographers today, revealing that many of the vehicles are carrying nothing more than a few bags of food or boxes.
Russian officials claim the - though the Ukrainian government has been suspicious from the outset that the convoy - surrounded by military vehicles - is a ploy to increase Moscow's hold over the separatist region.
When asked why so many of the trucks were not fully-loaded, drivers at the camp in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, less than 20 miles from the Ukrainian border, said it was so they could take on extra cargo if any of the other vehicles break down.
The fate of the Russian convoy now seems more hopeful, after Ukrainian news sources reported that the cargo is now set to pass into the country through the Izvaryne crossing, under the management of Ukraine and European monitors.
But in a bizarre twist it emerged that some of the trucks are practically empty. Reporters allowed inside the vehicles saw stacks of just a few boxes, or isolated bags of grain in the huge cargo holds.
Drivers at the scene claimed the trucks were underfilled in case some vehicles broke down and needed to hand over their freight.
Kiev has also dispatched its own convoy of 75 aid trucks to the region, which arrived in Starobilsk, a town near the city of Lugansk, which, officials say has long been without power and water.
Luhansk, August 15 2014.
Rival convoy: Ukraine has also dispatched its own fleet of trucks to Lugansk, pictured above being dispatched from the capital Kiev
Rolling: The Ukrainian government dispatched its own convoy as tensions rose over the destination - and cargo - of the 262 Russian trucks.
Shipment arrived: Aid sent by Ukraine is seen above in the town of Staroblisk, near rebel-held Lugansk, which has been without food and running water.
Food parcels: The Ukrainian humanitarian convoy reached its destination after less than 24 hours, while Moscow's is becalmed outside the country.
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