Coronavirus latest: Russia sends military help to Italy
Aid convoy from Moscow heads to airbase near Rome Italy while Spain struggles to contain the spread of virus
Russia said two of the military transport planes carrying medical specialists and equipment to Italy had left an airbase outside Moscow, as part of a nine-aircraft aid convoy to the country most affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Russian Air Force planes will deliver the eight medical teams to the Pratica di Mare airbase south-west of Rome, the ministry of defence said on Sunday.
Most of [the medical specialists] are leading experts in their field, they were directly involved in the elimination of outbreaks of African swine fever, anthrax, the development of a vaccine against ebola and plague vaccines.
The assistance follows a call between Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte and Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday evening, in which the Kremlin said that “the two leaders agreed on close interaction in fighting the coronavirus”.