The Russian government, which has boasted of its extraordinary success in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, has sent nine huge cargo planes loaded with specialised military virus-busting technology to Italy.
The Ilyushin-76 planes, which carried over 100 virologists and doctors along with the sanitising equipment, were sent after President Putin spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday.
Their equipment is emblazoned with the words "From Russia with Love". Images from defence ministry TV channel Zvezda show the Russian military planes departing from Russia and arriving in Italy in an unprecedented act of support for a NATO country.