A 97-year-old Russian World War II veteran has taken inspiration from the record-breaking charity efforts of British centenarian Captain Tom Moore and raised $27,500 for the families of doctors who died of Covid-19, Reuters reports.

Zinaida Korneva, who reached the rank of senior sergeant in the Red Army during World War II and served in the Soviet Union’s anti-aircraft forces, has also knit a pair of socks as a gift to Moore.

“Hello Tom. I learned about your story. You are a strong person and a real soldier,” Korneva told AP.

“We defeated fascism together in 1945. And now, together, we’re fighting against this virus, " she added.

In this family photo taken by Dmitry Panov, Zinaida Korneva, World War II veteran, shows the socks she knitted for Tom Moore, a British World War II veteran who raised millions of pounds for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday, during her interview with the *Associated Press* in St Petersburg, Russia, May 5. — AP
In this family photo taken by Dmitry Panov, Zinaida Korneva, World War II veteran, shows the socks she knitted for Tom Moore, a British World War II veteran who raised millions of pounds for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday, during her interview with the Associated Press in St Petersburg, Russia, May 5. — AP

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