DONETSK, Ukraine — The Red Cross will lead an international humanitarian aid operation into Ukraine’s conflict-stricken province of Luhansk with assistance from Russia, the European Union and the United States, Ukraine said today.

The Kremlin earlier announced that it was dispatching the humanitarian convoy into eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia separatists are battling the central government in Kiev.

Such initiatives have previously faced sustained opposition from Ukraine and the West, who had feared they could act as a pretext for sending Russian troops into rebel-held territory. Ukraine and the West have long accused Russia of arming and supporting the rebels, a charge that Russia has denied.

Officials in Kiev took pains to specify today that the Ukrainian government was behind the humanitarian convoy initiative, and that Moscow was only one of several countries involved.

They also said the mission had the backing of President Barack Obama.

“Apart from deliveries provided by Ukraine, the mission will feature an international component, including aid provided to the International Committee of the Red Cross by the United States, the EU, as well as Russia,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.