MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax) - The third airplane of the Russian Aerospace Forces is heading to Serbia as part of efforts to help this country counter the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The third [Ilyushin] Il-76 military-transport plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces took off from the Chkalovsky airfield [in the Moscow region] and is heading to the Republic of Serbia as part of assistance to fight the spread of the coronavirus infection," the ministry said on Friday.
The plane, which is carrying military doctors, virologists, epidemiologists, and also advanced diagnostic and disinfection equipment, is due to land at the Batajnica airfield, located 20 kilometers north-west of Belgrade, it said.
Interfax said earlier that Russia would help Serbia fight the Covid-19 epidemic and that Russian Defense Ministry forces would be used in these efforts.
In order to airlift personnel and hardware, 11 flights will be performed by military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces to transport 87 servicemen, including military medics and virologists of the radiation, chemical, and biological protection forces, as well as specialized medical equipment, protective gear, and 16 pieces of military hardware, to Serbia.