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The BBC's Steve Rosenberg says he witnessed Russian military vehicles heading towards the Ukrainian border
Ukraine says its border guards are to inspect a controversial Russian aid convoy parked at the frontier.
Ukrainian officials said the inspectors had arrived to check the cargo, bound for cities in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels.
Ukraine fears the convoy may carry military supplies for the rebels, an accusation Russia has rejected.
On Thursday, two reporters said they saw Russian army vehicles heading into Ukraine, into rebel-held territory.
Ukrainian security officials said that they had spotted a column of armoured personnel carriers and military lorries crossing into Ukraine.
Russia's government has consistently denied directly arming or training the rebels, who sparked the conflict in April when they took control of several cities in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukrainian officials had been quoted as saying the inspection had already begun, but later on Friday Ukrainian national security spokesman Andriy Lysenko told Ukrainian TV that the inspectors were still waiting for the relevant paperwork from the Red Cross.
Ukrainian officials said that the aid cargo would be delivered to Luhansk after being inspected by a team of around 80 customs inspectors and border guards.
Luhansk, a rebel stronghold, saw heavy shelling on Thursday, as did Donetsk, which is also held by rebels.
However, the Red Cross's Head of Operations for Europe and Central Asia, Laurent Corbaz, said that aid would not be distributed until the security of the Red Cross personnel who are meant to carry this out could be guaranteed.
"Given the size [of the cargo] and the security constraints, implementation is likely to take some time," Mr Corbaz said - not in one week and possibly "much longer".
Sergey Karavaytsev, head of the international activities department of Russia's emergencies ministry, told the RIA Novosti news agency that he expected the trucks to be in the same place "for a few more days".
'Stop the bloodshed'Also on Friday:
- Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, in Brussels for a meeting with his EU counterparts, called the crossing of Russian army vehicles into Ukraine "a gross violation of international law"
- Nato calls on Russia to "pull back its troops, stop the flow of arms and fighters over the border with Ukraine"
- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the EU has "shot itself in the foot" by imposing sanctions on Russia
The conflict, which has claimed more than 2,000 lives, has intensified in recent weeks.
The violence began when pro-Russian rebels seized government buildings and tried to declare independence.
The military launched an operation to retake the east, and stepped up its activities in June.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday visited Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in March in a move that drew international condemnation.
Ukraine said it had officially protested to Russia over the visit, saying it was an affront to Ukraine's sovereignty.
Mr Putin said Russia's goal was "to stop bloodshed in Ukraine as soon as possible".
He said Russia should not "fence itself off from the outside world" although he said Russia would "not allow anyone to treat us with arrogance".
On Thursday it emerged that Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft, had asked the Russian government for a loan of more than $40bn (£24bn) in order to help it weather the impact of Western sanctions.
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