Russia has decided to give Vietnam US$5 million in support to help the country deal with the impact of Typhoon Damrey, according to a media report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a directive to provide Vietnam with the financial assistance in the aftermath of Typhoon Damrey, the Russian TASS news agency quoted Dmitry Peskov, the president’s press secretary, as saying on Tuesday.

The decision was made after a meeting between President Putin, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Minister of Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov, and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov.

During the gathering, the Russian head of state was informed of the casualties and damage caused by Damrey in Vietnam.

Aside from monetary support, an Il-76 aircraft from Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations has been sent to the Southeast Asian nation.

The plane departed on Wednesday morning, heading toward Cam Ranh Airport in the storm-struck south-central province of Khanh Hoa, carrying 40 metric tons of goods including milk, sugar, canned food, and tents.

“The president and Russia have proceed on the assumption that this initiative will be heeded, and that the countries taking part in the APEC summit in Vietnam will express their solidarity with the Vietnamese people in the form and to the extent they deem appropriate for themselves," TASS quoted Peskov as saying.

Damrey made landfall in Khanh Hoa Province on Friday last week with winds gusting at up to 90km per hour. It is now considered the fiercest storm to hit the egion in twenty years.

As of Wednesday morning, the death toll had reached 89, with 30 people still missing.

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