Gracanica, with a population of 13,000, is one of 22 Serb areas in Kosovo to receive Russian aid, which was provided following a request last month from Serbia's government citing a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the province.
The head of Russia's diplomatic mission in Kosovo, Andrei Dronov said: "The humanitarian aid should in any case be depoliticized as it was provided at the request of the Serb government and is a sign of friendly relations between Russia and Serbia."
The diplomat also said that the situation for Serbs in Kosovo had deteriorated since the Albanian-dominated province proclaimed its independence from Serbia on February 17.
The Russian aid, worth around 40 million rubles ($1.7 million), was flown to Belgrade in four deliveries in early April, and will eventually be distributed to a total of 7,000 Serbian families.
The supplies consist of 140 metric tons of food, including canned meat and fish, baby food, rice, and sugar, along with 20 metric tons of medical equipment, medicines, disinfectants and other healthcare products. A family of three people will be given ten cans of fish and 14 cans of meat, five kilograms of rice and two kilograms of sugar.
Kosovo, with a 90% ethnic-Albanian majority, has been formally recognized as a sovereign state by 37 countries including the United States and most European Union members. Russia and China continue to back Belgrade's position that Kosovo will always remain a part of Serbia.
