The UN information center in Moscow told Sputnik that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is collaborating with Russian and Ukrainian authorities to deliver humanitarian aid to conflict-affected people.

"Following close discussions between OCHA and the Ministries of defense and foreign affairs in Moscow in parallel to similar contacts in Ukraine, the first humanitarian convoy was successfully launched today to [the northeastern Ukrainian city of] Sumy delivering over 100 metric tons of life-saving assistance for the affected population there," the center added.

In order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all vulnerable communities in the Ukrainian crisis, OCHA "hopes to build on this positive exchange," the center stated.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, responding to calls from the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk for help in countering the aggression of Ukrainian forces, which has been ongoing since 2014.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.

A couple of days before launching the operation, Putin had recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics after weeks of escalating shelling, mortar, sniper, and sabotage attacks by Ukrainian armed forces and ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in the Donbass region.