Russia sends plane with medical supplies, equipment to U.S.

April 1 (UPI) -- A Russian military plane carrying donated medical supplies left Moscow Wednesday en route to destinations in the United States to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian government said.

The Russian Aerospace Forces cargo plane is carrying medical face masks and other health equipment, the defense ministry said.

U.S. President Donald Trump first mentioned the aid from Russia during a press briefing at the White House Monday.

"Russia sent us a very, very large planeload of things, medical equipment, which was very nice," he said in an update of the administration's response to the crisis.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken and that aid was being sent with the understanding that the help can be reciprocated once American manufacturers had caught up in producing medical equipment.

Russian health officials reported more than 400 new cases Wednesday, pushing the nation's total over 2,800.