Ukraine: No weapon for Putin!

After Russian intervention Ukraine stopped military supplies to this country and it seriously threaten to undermine the power of Kremlin.

Russian Helicopters have Ukrainian problems

“Statements concerning the continuation of military purpose and dual-use products supply by Ukraine to Russia do not correspond with the reality. We emphasize that “Ukroboronprom” State Concern has temporary suspended all product shipments to this country”, in this way Yuriy Tereshenko, Concern Temporary Director General, has commented the statements of Ukrainian and Russian representatives regarding military technical cooperation between Ukraine and Russian Federation.
This is a very concerning information for Russian Ministry of Defence, because Ukraine acts a certain part in defense capacity of Kremlin army. Specific character of Ukrainian defense-industrial sector is its large scale and close cooperation with Russian military plants. When the USSR collapsed Ukraine had about 30% of all its defence industry or 750 enterprises with 1,5 million employees.

Now “Ukroboronprom” State Concern includes 134 military plants with $1,3 bil. of production volume and $47,5 millions of net income. As Russian experts affirm 80% of Ukrainian military plants from the Southeast closely work with Russia and the whole volume of military supplies makes up about $500 millions a year. 70% of the sum are helicopter engines installed almost in every Russian military or transport helicopter. A representative of “Russian Helicopters” company said that in 2011 a $1 bil. contract was signed with Ukrainian “Motor Sich” plant. Parties were going to launch a joint military-transport aircraft engines center and Ukrainian share would be 49%.

Image: peer_gynt, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Satan from Kyiv

Another dramatically important part of war industry cooperation is missiles production. Design Office “Yuzhnoye” carries out engineering supervision and extention of the service of the most powerful Russian strategic missiles RS-20 “Voyevoda” (or “Satan” in NATO classification). RS-20 makes up 17% of all Russian intercontinental ballistic missile so it is a part of Moscow nuclear defence. “Satan”’s control system was designed in Ukraine too and this fact is so concerning for Russia that recently it made a special statement claiming from Ukrainian government not to disclose secret information connected to this issue, because earlier some special agreements were signed. No wonder that Moscow got just a sceptic smile from Kyiv after “agreement” word had sounded: Russia prefers to stand by its word only if it is advantageous for it.
Russian Ministry of Defence ordered Ukraine design and producing of military transport plane AN-70. Such aircrafts are designed in Kyiv Design Office “Antonov” and can transport 300 airborne troops or 47 tonnes of weight. AN-70 cost is $67 millions. Also machine building plant in Mykolaiv manufactures turbines for Russian warships and radio engineering plant in Khmelnitsky supplies components for Russian electronic warfare stations.

Thailand is waiting for yellow-blue tanks

Whereas Ukraine is going through serious economical hardship every losses in cooperation can provoke a disaster in military plants. So it would be reasonable to find some compensation. “We are aware of possible negative results for certain enterprises owing to the suspension of cooperation with Russian Federation”, Mr. Tereshenko says. “In order to avoid it, as well as to ease a tension within staff we are improving the internal purchase system. At the same time, foreign contracts focused on operative compensation of possible current losses are being prepared”.
 It is time to remember that Russian arms contracts make up just 30% of the whole amount and “Ukroboronprom” contributes to several countries too. Ukraine exported to Asia (South Corea) a batch of warships to the sum of $53 millions in 2013. Thailand ordered a lot of “Oplot” tanks in Kharkiv military plant. 32 of Thai soldiers have got special training at Ukrainian Design Office “Morozov” grounds. India purchased a batch of “air-to-air” class guided missiles for aircrafts.

“Russian Sword in NATO hands”

But Russian propaganda presents the suspension of military production cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow as a threat and a casus belli again. Kremlin media peremptory informs their audience that “new pro-Western authorities of Ukraine is eager to eliminate the part of defense-industrial sector which the EU and the US are not interested in”. In article with distinctive USSR-style title “Russian Sword in NATO hands” its author Victor Yaduha affirms that “Kyiv will execute the West will and stop military plants”. And even more, “in case of elimination of resistance in Southeast Kyiv will destroy economically and physically enterprises of Kharkiv and Dniepropetrovsk. “No wonder”, Yaduha writes, “that, as military experts say, one of the main arguments in favour for possible Russian intervention to Southeast of Ukraine is necessity of control of its military-industrial complex”.
What a nice logic when a thief justifies his theft alleging that otherwise a victim will destroy his property anyway in order not to be gone to the criminal!