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Russian Defense Ministry delivers Chinese aid to Moldova to help fight coronavirus

The Defense Ministry pointed out that it had been the first joint Russian-Chinese humanitarian mission

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry’s Antonov An-124 aircraft delivered about 40 tonnes of medical supplies from China to Moldova to help the country combat the coronavirus, the ministry said in a statement.

"On April 19, the Russian Defense Ministry carried out a mission at Moldova’s request, delivering medical supplies provided by China from Shanghai to Chisinau by an An-124 aircraft in order to assist Moldova’s fight against the COVID-19 infection," the statement reads.

The Defense Ministry pointed out that it had been the first joint Russian-Chinese humanitarian mission aimed at facilitating the fight against the coronavirus.

Moldova’s authorities had earlier requested Moscow’s assistance in the delivery of a Chinese aid shipment.

The ministry added that on March 27, Russia had sent a batch humanitarian aid to Moldova, which particularly included 10,000 coronavirus test systems.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

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