A Russian military transport plane departed from Moscow early Wednesday and headed to the U.S. with a load of medical equipment and masks to help in the coronavirus fight, Russian state TV said according to Reuters.
President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump had spoken in a phone conversation Monday, and Putin offered Russian aid to relieve American supply shortages that are critical in treating the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
Russia’s Rossiya 24 channel showed the plane full of boxes and other packages taking off from a Moscow air base Wednesday morning.
“Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency on Tuesday night. Trump also spoke enthusiastically about the Russian help after his call with Putin, according to Reuters.
“It is important to note that when offering assistance to U.S. colleagues, the president (Putin) assumes that when U.S. manufacturers of medical equipment and materials gain momentum, they will also be able to reciprocate if necessary,” Peskov was cited as saying.
Russia reports 2,337 coronavirus cases and 17 deaths, a number some doctors have questioned, Reuters reported. Russia has also sent planes full of medical aid to Italy amid the country’s devastating outbreak. (RELATED: CBS News Airs Footage Of Italian Hospital While Reporting On New York’s Coronavirus Crisis)