Vladimir Putin billed Donald Trump nearly $660,000 after sending 60 tons of medical equipment to the U.S. in the midst of the coronavirus crisis – including thousands of pieces hospitals don’t usually use.
‘The State Department received a final invoice from the Government of Russia for $659,283,’ a FEMA spokesperson told ABC News today. ‘Once the routing instructions are received, the State Department will remit payment and FEMA will reimburse the State Department.’
The cargo included chemical ware-fare style gas masks, household cleaning gloves and 45 ventilators with incorrect voltage capacities, according to two U.S. officials and government records of the shipment revealed.
While U.S. requires 110 volts, Russia uses 220-volt electricity.
Moscow referred to the drop as ‘humanitarian aid’ for New Yorkers.
Trump spoke with the Russian president on March 30th on a private phone call, where he accepted Putin’s offer for medical equipment, and the shipment arrived at JFK airport in New York City April 1.
The administration said it was an ‘act of goodwill’ that Putin sent plane full of medical equipment.
During Trump’s April 2 press briefing – a few days after his call with his Russian counterpart – he did not disclose the price tag on the shipment – but said that he would accept more supplies if Russia offered.
‘If they send things that we need, I’d take it. Sure,’ Trump told the press at the time.
New York and New Jersey are the two states most hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak, making up more than 25,000 deaths of the nearly 64,000 total U.S. casualties.
While the federal government said it transferred all of the supplies to state officials in both New Jersey and New York, it is still not clear how useful the April shipment was for area hospitals.
Some have suggested the equipment is still in storage and the act served more as a public relations stunt for the Kremlin.
But Trump said April 2: ‘I’m not concerned about Russian propaganda. Not even a little bit.’
‘He offered a lot of medical, high quality stuff that I accepted and that may save a lot of lives. I’ll take it every day,’ he continued at the time of the briefing a month ago.
FEMA provided a full list of the supplies included in the air shipment to ABC News.
It included 4,000 M-95 ‘full face masks with filters.’
These types of masks cover the entire face and are military-grade, usually used to protect against chemical and biological agents.
On the contrast, frontline responders and U.S. healthcare workers need ‘N95’ respirator masks, which only cover the nose and mouth.