Those Trucks Putin Sent To Ukraine With 'Humanitarian Supplies' Were Mostly Empty
By Paul Gregory (Hoover
Institution and University of Houston)
What was supposed to be a PR bonanza is ending up as
another black eye for Vladimir
Putin, the heralded chess master of world politics. Did he really expect
the world community to force Ukraine to allow in Russia’s gift of humanitarian
assistance, no questions asked? Did he really think that Ukraine would allow
his convoy to proceed into a war zone as cameras recorded the celebratory
reception by starving and suffering civilians? Did Putin really not understand
that national leaders look askance at attempts to cross national borders
without permission? That is the International Politics 101 lecture that Putin
failed to attend.
An official government website, Russia Behind the News, heralded the impending delivery to beleaguered Donbassians of “some 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies” in 280 KamAz trucks, including “400 tonnes of cereal, 100 tonnes of sugar, 62 tonnes of baby food, 54 tonnes of medical equipment and medication, 12,000 sleeping bags, and 69 portable power generators.” What good news, but how were these supplies to get across the border, much less into an active war zone?
As would be expected, negotiations among Russia, Ukraine, and the International
Committee of the Red Cross failed on August 14, after international leaders
called in protest. Putin could not afford a direct confrontation so he
blinked. The white-painted KamAz-truck convoy ended up parked near the
Ukrainian border awaiting inspection, as some hundred curious reporters swarmed
the scene, taking pictures as they urged drivers to display the contents of the
trucks.
To the shock of the reporters, trucks contained a
few bags of flour, a large bundle of bottled water, and other miscellaneous
items – far from the cornucopia promised by Russian propaganda. In his video report, a BBC
reporter reacted to what he had seen: “What strikes me most about these lorries
is that they are almost empty.” When asked about another truck that
remained unopened, the BBC reporter was told its manifest stated it contained
eight tons of buckwheat flour – two tons in excess of the KAMaz’s maximum load. So we have
near empty trucks alongside those carrying more than their allowable weight.
The “almost empty” narrative (see also reporter Courtney Weaver’s photos) has
turned Putin’s humanitarian gesture into a running joke. One writer has dubbed
the convoy the “Trojan Mules.” A social
media commentator quips that the trucks are half empty so that they can pick
up Polish vegetables and apples on the way back. Another asks why Russia would
send 100 trucks that are two percent full instead of five that are 100 percent
full? According to my calculation, that would have saved Russia 50,000
gallons of diesel fuel.
The “almost empty” convoy has conspiracy theorists
looking for a rational explanation. One making the rounds is that Russia needs
a large number of trucks to extract their mercenary forces from Ukraine,
spelling the end or lessening of the guerilla war sponsored by Russia, at least
for the time being. A second story is that the 280 transport vehicles
would give pro-Russian forces a logistical boost. Sources with extensive
military experience, however, tell me that such trucks would not prove of much
value on the Donbass war front.
I’ll go with the simplest explanation: Putin wanted to make a big PR splash for
his August 14 speech in Crimea – a speech so lackluster that the full
transcript has not been published on Putin’s
web site. (Kremlinologists: figure that one out). He planned to
present himself to Crimea and the world as the humanitarian, peace-loving
Putin. The world listened, heard his usual pleas for peace, and world stock
markets fell. They have heard this story too many times. Even more humiliating
is that Ukrainian aid
has already arrived with more to follow. To make matters worse, reporters,
whiling away their time on the unguarded border, are reporting armored
personnel carriers loaded with Russian troops (with Russian insignia no
less) whizzing unhindered across the border. Russia’s protests that reporters
should not “believe their lying eyes” seem to be falling on empty ears.
What Putin hoped to be a huge publicity triumph is
turning into a PR disaster, second only to the downing of MH17. He might go
down in history as “empty-truck Putin,” or “Ebenezer Putin.” Next time he
should think things through before he embarks on another misadventure.
Repost from Paul Gregory's blog.
Repost from Paul Gregory's blog.
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