The Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) issued a protest in response to a US announcement that a shipment of Mil Mi-17 helicopters will be sent to Ukraine.
On April 13, 2022, the US Department of Defense announced that its $800 million military aid package to Ukraine will include 11 Mi-17 transport helicopters. The aircraft were previously purchased for Afghanistan.
Some reports indicate that the transfer had been planned as early as January 2022, before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Russian FSVTS expresses a protest in regards to any illegal transfer of armaments and military equipment of Russian (Soviet) origin, including helicopters, supplied by Rosoboronexport in a large contract with Pentagon, signed in 2011, to Ukraine,” FSVTS said in a
statement published on April 27, 2022.
According to FSVTS, the contract and the user agreement, a copy of which was attached to the statement, states that the helicopters are intended for transfer to the Afghan Armed Forces and cannot be reexported or transferred to any third party without the agreement of the Russian Federation.
The service said such a “voluntaristic decision” contradicts the foundations of international law and the state of other Russian-American contracts.
“The fact that Pentagon officials admit being unable to control further movements of the armaments Americans supplied to Ukraine, meaning – to prevent its uncontrolled transfer to third parties, only aggravates the already intensified the threat of terrorism in the world,” the statement claims.