Aid Stolen? ‘Nonsense,’ Russian Asserts : Relief: But official admits problems in distributing the food and medicine now pouring in.

A senior Russian official on Wednesday described “formidable problems” in distributing tons of humanitarian aid pouring into the former Soviet Union this week but dismissed as “nonsense” reports that the charitable goods are being stolen.

Alexander Zhitnikov, deputy chairman of the Russian government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission, told a news conference that strict controls, including surprise checks, are being carried out as cargo planes continue to arrive with food and medicine from the United States and Europe.

“Honesty is not the problem,” Zhitnikov said. “The problem is organizing and coordinating this well.”

He said that aid deliveries sometimes arrive without notice, causing problems for local authorities, and that private donors and charities also have reported occasional problems getting through customs.

Various reports in the Moscow media about aid being stolen and resold by speculators or in private shops “are simply untrue,” Zhitnikov said. “Some reports say 60% to 70% of the supplies are not finding their way to their target groups,” he said. “That is nonsense.”

Raids on private shops have turned up no pilfered aid, he said.

Zhitnikov, whose commission is responsible only for Russia and not the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, was unable to specify how many people have received humanitarian aid so far. Nor could he say exactly how much has been distributed.

The United States, a far distant second to Germany as the most generous donor, began its current emergency airlift of food and medicine to the newly independent republics Monday. Up to 64 flights are expected to deliver 4.5 million pounds of goods by the end of next week.

“We regard this as the start of large-scale assistance from the U.S. government and the governments of a number of other countries,” said Zhitnikov, who previously has described the current American campaign as mostly “symbolic.”

The Salvation Army is overseeing distribution of the newly arrived U.S. goods in the Moscow area, sending its uniformed representatives along with each truck as it makes the rounds of soup kitchens, refugee camps and hospitals. Salvation Army volunteers also make surprise spot checks on recipient institutions to ensure the supplies are going to the needy. No corruption or other problems have been reported since the beginning of the U.S. campaign, dubbed Operation Provide Hope.

“Of course, we cannot meet all the needs,” Zhitnikov said. “It is a moral problem. Letters keep coming in from various areas asking for help but we do not have as much as we’d like.

“Our task is not to feed all segments of the population, but to help the poorest,” he said. The commission’s biggest problem is ensuring “more or less equitable distribution” of the goods, Zhitnikov added.

Asked if the commission has calculated how much aid is needed, Zhitnikov said it is “hard to know for sure” but that a wish list was provided at last month’s international conference on aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States in Washington. “About 240,000 tons of humanitarian aid were received last year by Russia,” Zhitnikov said. “By our rough estimate, we are expecting about 1 million tons this year.”

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization forecast a dramatic drop in food supplies in the former Soviet Union over the next few months. The report issued on Wednesday in Rome said the shortages will put children, the elderly and the infirm at particular risk.

“The food supply situation is expected to deteriorate sharply in the coming months, particularly among vulnerable groups, as a consequence of rapid inflation, the disintegration of the distribution system and price liberalization,” the report said.