Russia sends aid to Cuba

Russia dispatched nearly 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Cuba, the defence ministry said yesterday, following unprecedented street protests over the communist country's worst economic crisis in decades. The delivery directly ordered by President Vladimir Putin, AFP quoted the ministry saying. Two An-124 cargo planes carrying more than 88 tonnes of humanitarian support took off from a military airport near Moscow, a statement said. The cargo included "food, personal protective equipment and more than one million medical masks," it said. The United States this week imposed sanctions on Cuba's defence minister and a special forces unit for quashing peaceful protests.