Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to provide humanitarian aid and offer five million U.S. dollars in a relief fund to disaster-hit Vietnam, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Putin hopes that this initiative will insprire other countries participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam to show solidarity with the Vietnamese people, a Kremlin statement said.

According to Vietnam's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Typhoon Damrey has killed 44 people and left 19 others missing after hitting Vietnam's central and central highlands regions Saturday.

source: Xinhua