KIEV (REUTERS) - The World's biggest cargo plane brought more than 100 tonnes of medical equipment to Ukraine from China on Thursday (April 23), in what Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as the biggest cargo shipment by volume in history.

The Ukrainian-designed Antonov-225 Mriya aircraft is typically used to lift large and heavy loads for industry.

On Thursday it brought 12 million masks, 260,000 protective glasses and 100,000 gowns to help protect Ukrainian medics treating coronavirus patients.

"This is a record for the volume of cargo, which can be included in the Guinness Book of Records," Zelenskiy told reporters after it landed. Reuters was not able to verify this.

Zelenskiy said several more flights were planned for the near future.

China has been providing high profile assistance to Eastern European countries fighting the coronavirus as part of a diplomatic push in the region.