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Defense minister vows to deliver Dr. Liza’s relief aid from fatal flight to Syria

The relief aid, which Elizaveta Glinka, known as Dr. Liza, had planned to distribute in Aleppo, has already been delivered to Hmeymim air base

© Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry's Press Office/TASS

MOSCOW, December 27 /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has pledged to deliver the relief aid, which human rights activist Elizaveta Glinka had carried on board the doomed Tu-154 aircraft, which crashed over the Black Sea, to recipients in Aleppo.

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Children’s doctors send condolences to Dr. Liza's family after Tu-154 plane crash

"The mission, which she (Elizaveta Glinka) went on together with us in Syria - helping civilians, children and medical institutions - should be continued. The relief aid, which she had planned to distribute in Aleppo, has already been delivered to Hmeymim air base and will be turned over to the recipients soon," Shoigu said at a conference held at the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, which the Rossiya-24 TV news channel broadcast live.

The defense chief also confirmed its plans to name one of the Russian Defense Ministry’s medical institutions in honor of Elizaveta Glinka.

A Russian Defense Ministry Tu-154 bound for Syria crashed in the early morning hours of December 25 shortly after taking off from Sochi. There were 92 people on board the aircraft, including eight crew members and 84 passengers. Among them were journalists, servicemen and musicians from the world-renowned Alexandrov ensemble, the official choir of the Russian armed forces, who set off to celebrate New Year’s Eve with Russia’s Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim air base in Syria. The Executive Director of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Russian for Fair Aid) charity fund Elizaveta Glinka, known to the Russian public as Dr. Liza, was also on board the flight.

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