DONETSK, Russia (AP) — Hundreds of Russian aid trucks have returned home from rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

A European official says all the vehicles had returned to Russia by mid-afternoon Saturday.

Moscow unilaterally sent hundreds of aid trucks into Ukraine through a rebel-held border point on Friday, saying it had lost patience with Ukraine’s delaying tactics, a move that Ukraine promptly described as an invasion.

Russia says the trucks carried only food, water, generators and sleeping bags to the hard-hit rebel stronghold of Luhansk.

Ukraine and others — including the U.S., the European Union and NATO — denounced the Russian move as a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. They also suggested the convoy could be smuggling in supplies and reinforcements to the pro-Russian separatists fighting the government.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks in Kiev with Ukrainian officials on Saturday and expressed hope for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.

There’s a much-anticipated meeting on Tuesday between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.

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