The Russian military at the Khmeimim air base in Syria has begun distributing humanitarian aid to the population affected by the devastating recent earthquakes directly from their own warehouses.

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edited by\ Alexander Yanixana
world section CJ journalist
Sputnik - 13 Feb.-2023
Syria

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      The decision to open the base to the Syrian population greatly accelerated the overall effort to help the victims, and was made at the express orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lt. Col. Alexander Vasiliev of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria told Sputnik.

“We have started distributing aid from our warehouses at the direct order of Russian President Vladimir Putin... The process of direct transfer of assistance from the base should speed up the process. Most of the victims who come to us have found temporary shelter at accommodation centers provided by two mosques closest to the base,” Vasiliev stated.
According to him, humanitarian supplies to Khmeimim from Russia will be delivered daily, as long as necessary. At the same time, a first-aid post is operating at the Russian airbase, which receives victims of earthquakes and provides them with all the necessary medical assistance. Both visiting Russian and local Syrian doctors work here. Throngs of people have been queuing for humanitarian and medical aid at the base.

Russia has never abandoned us in times of need in recent years. Russia helped us fight terrorism, and restore peaceful life in our country, then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia gave us the vaccine. Now, it is helping us overcome the consequences of the earthquake. I think many will agree with me:

" we will never forget this,” said one of the women who was waiting for humanitarian aid at the Russian base."

Nearly 40,000 people are estimated to have perished in the series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks that hit parts of Turkiye and Syria on February 6. The death toll from the disaster in Syria currently stands at about 8,500, according to Rick Brennan, the acting regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean office of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Russia has never abandoned us in times of need in recent years. Russia helped us fight terrorism, and restore peaceful life in our country, then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia gave us the vaccine. Now, it is helping us overcome the consequences of the earthquake. I think many will agree with me: we will never forget this,” said one of the women who was waiting for humanitarian aid at the Russian base.