An Il-7 military transport plane is to airlift about 30 men with 10 tons of gear and equipment necessary for the deployment of a Russian air group to Juba airport.
"The airplane took off from Migalovo airfield at 6 p.m. Moscow time (2 p.m. GMP) and set course for Sudan," said Air Force spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky.
Maj. Gen. Viktor Ivanov, head of the Air Force Army Aviation Directorate, said Wednesday 120 servicemen, four Mi-8 military transport helicopters, communications equipment, mobile power generators, and water purification systems would be sent to Sudan.
He said the servicemen would not be involved in combat missions, but would work as part of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
The Russian group will be rotated on a regular basis.
A 21-year bloody civil war ended in Sudan after the Muslim-dominated north and Christians and animists in the south reached a peace deal in 2005.
On March 24, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1663 extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) until September 26, 2006.
UNMIS currently includes 14 Russian military observers and 19 civilian police officers.
