Russia sends plane with medical supplies to US for coronavirus response

A Russian military transport plane headed for the United States on Wednesday with a load of medical equipment and masks.
The move comes after president Vladimir Putin offered help in a phone conversation with his US counterpart, Donald Trump. The flight was organised by the Russian defence ministry. Russian media showed the plane taking off from a military air base outside Moscow.
“Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid,” media citied Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
The US has 215,357 confirmed cases and 5,113 deaths. Russia on Tuesday had 3,548 confirmed cases and 30 deaths, although critics have questioned the accuracy of official data.
“It is important to note that when offering assistance to US colleagues, the president assumes that when US manufacturers of medical equipment and materials gain momentum, they will also be able to reciprocate if necessary”, Peskov was cited as saying.
Trump himself spoke enthusiastically about the Russian help after his call with Putin.
On Sunday, top UK officials warned that China, with more than 3,000 deaths could have downplayed its number of cases “by a factor of 15 to 40 times”. They also believe China is trying to expand its economic power through offering help to other countries which are currently trying to combat the virus.