Portugal gives Ukraine Russian helicopters, but Russia doesn't like it

Ukraine received six Ka-32 helicopters from Portugal, which it had purchased from Russia in 2006. Moscow said that it had not agreed to this supply to a third country.

Here's What We Know

Attempts to transfer the Ka-32 to Ukraine lasted almost two years. The Portuguese first promised to deliver the helicopters in October 2022. And in April this year, the Portuguese Minister of National Defence confirmed the start of the transfer. Ukraine is likely to adopt them in September.

A statement by Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened to announce retaliatory measures against Lisbon.

"Russia did not agree to such a deal, especially since Lisbon is not deploying Russian helicopters to fight fires. We call on our colleagues to reconsider and refrain from taking steps that completely discredit Portugal as a negotiating partner and erase the pages of our mutually beneficial cooperation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said back in April.

It is worth noting that in 2006, the Portuguese government purchased 6 Ka-32A11VS helicopters from the Russian Federation for a total of almost 348 million euros.

Flashback

The Ka-32A is a multi-purpose helicopter developed by the Soviet Kamov Design Bureau in the 1980s. This helicopter is designed to perform a variety of tasks, such as cargo transportation, search and rescue operations, evacuation and firefighting. It is equipped with two coaxial rotors, which gives it high manoeuvrability and stability in difficult conditions. The Ka-32A is used by both military and civilian operators in many countries around the world.

Source: Defence 24