MOSCOW -- Russia on Tuesday dispatched hundreds of trucks covered in white tarps and sprinkled with holy water on a mission to deliver aid to a rebel-held zone in eastern Ukraine.

The televised sight of the miles-long convoy sparked a show of indignation from the government in Kiev, which insisted any aid must be delivered by the Red Cross. Ukraine and Western nations have openly expressed concern that Moscow intends to use the cover of a humanitarian operation to embark on a military incursion in support of the pro-Russia separatists.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to travel today to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed in March, where he was to preside over a meeting involving the entire Russian Cabinet and senior lawmakers.

Putin so far has resisted calls from pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine and nationalists at home to send Russian troops to back the mutiny, a move that likely would trigger more Western sanctions. But dispatching the convoy was a way for the Kremlin to counter criticism from the rebels, who accuse Putin of betrayal.

A Ukrainian security spokesman said the convoy of white-canvased vehicles was being managed by the Russian army and could not be allowed into the country. Moscow has rejected the claim, saying the convoy is organized by the Emergencies Ministry, a nonmilitary agency dealing with humanitarian relief tasks.

The government in Kiev said the Russian trucks could unload their contents at the border and transfer the aid to vehicles leased by the Red Cross.

Russian authorities said the trucks were loaded with nearly 2,000 tons of cargo from baby food to portable generators. Television images showed a Russian Orthodox priest sprinkling holy water on the trucks before they departed.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the convoy hit the road only after Ukraine had given the green light.

"We have received a note expressing the Ukrainian side's readiness to accept the aid," he said.

Lavrov added that Russia bowed to Ukrainian demands that the convoy should enter its territory through a checkpoint designated by Kiev and that Ukrainian number plates be put on trucks there.

Lavrov said the idea to unload the trucks on the border and put the cargo on chartered vehicles had come under discussion but had been rejected for cost reasons. He added that Russia had agreed to Kiev's demand to put Ukrainian representatives on board the trucks alongside Red Cross staff members.

Ukraine has stressed that the effort to alleviate hardship in the conflict-racked Luhansk region should be seen as an international undertaking. Officials in Kiev have said Russia's involvement in the humanitarian mission is required to ensure cooperation from separatist rebel forces, who have consistently expressed their allegiance to Moscow.

But Valeriy Chaly, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said any attempt to take humanitarian goods into Ukraine without proper authorization would be viewed as an attack.

French President Francois Hollande discussed the aid delivery Tuesday with Putin, saying that "he emphasized the strong fears evoked by a unilateral Russian mission in Ukrainian territory." Hollande told Putin that any mission must be multilateral and have the agreement of the Red Cross and Ukraine, according to a statement in Paris.

NATO was following the situation closely and expressed concern about the possibility of a Russian military operation.

"What we see is thousands of combat-ready troops from Russia being close to the Ukrainian border," NATO spokesman Carmen Romero said. "There could be a risk of further intervention."

The fighting between pro-Russia separatists and the Ukrainian government has scarred Luhansk, the region's rebel-held capital, which had a prewar population of 420,000. On Tuesday, authorities said the city's 250,000 remaining residents have had no electricity or water supplies for 10 days.

"Luhansk is under a de facto blockade: The city continues to be destroyed, and the delivery of foodstuffs, medicine and fuel has been interrupted," the City Council said.

The situation also looked to be worsening in the main rebel city of Donetsk, where trains were no longer running Tuesday.

People seeking to leave Donetsk were forced to drive to a station in a rebel-held town to the north, Yasynuvata, which had come under rocket attack earlier in the day. Witnesses said at least three people were killed when a market and two apartment blocks were shelled.

Information for this article was contributed by Laura Mills, Lori Hinnant, Juergen Baetz and Mstyslav Chernov of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/13/2014