Aircraft with 26 Russian children taken out of Syria lands in Moscow region

Moscow [Russia], Aug 18 (ANI/Sputnik): For the first time since the introduction of coronavirus-related restrictions, a Russian Defense Ministry aircraft with 26 Russian children taken from the orphanages of Syria's Damascus landed at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow, the press service of Russian children's rights commissioner Anna Kuznetsova said.
Earlier reports said 26 Russian children from Damascus orphanages were returning home on Tuesday.
"With the assistance of Anna Kuznetsova, commissioner under the Russian president, 26 Russian children who were in orphanages in Damascus have been returned to their homeland from the Syrian Arab Republic," the press service said.
"The Russian Defense Ministry's first aircraft after a pause caused by restrictive measures in connection with the coronavirus pandemic landed at the Chkalovsky airfield in the Moscow Region," it said.
The press service said the children had been accompanied by doctors during the flight.
Overall, 157 children have already been returned to Russia from the war zones in the Middle East -- 122 from Iraq and 35 from Syria. (ANI/Sputnik)