The ministry is sending five aircraft to Beirut with an airmobile hospital, doctors, rescuers of the airmobile unit Tsentrospas and a laboratory of Rospotrebnadzor to detect COVID-19. The ministry noted that all specialists are equipped with special suits and protective equipment, taking into account the epidemiological situation.
"Il-76, which took off from the Zhukovsky [airport], landed in Beirut at 22:05 [19:05 GMT]", the ministry said in a statement on late Wednesday.
The massive explosion hit the Beirut port on Tuesday evening, leaving at least 135 people killed, some 5,000 others injured and half of the city's buildings damaged. Dozens of people are still missing.
The Lebanese authorities say that the blast was likely linked to improper storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in the port.
Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said the damage from the Beirut explosion is estimated to be between $10 billion to $15 billion.