Ukraine cancels deal with Russia on joint military exports

Ukraine has scrapped an inter-governmental military agreement with Russia that prevented unauthorized export of jointly developed weapons and equipment.

The government of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko decided to kill the agreement on Wednesday, more than 13 years after it came into effect, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.

Approved by both sides on March 24, 2004, the pact was based on a 1993 agreement on military and technical cooperation that allowed the two countries to jointly develop and manufacture military equipment and deliver them to other countries.

The 1993 agreement prohibited either side from selling or transferring military products and information jointly developed or modernized after January 1, 1992 to a third party, including foreign private individuals, legal entities or international organizations.

The new deal was aimed at establishing interaction between Ukraine and Russia in the export of military goods to third parties.

Ukraine has suspended the shipments of military goods to Russia since late March 2014, in the wake of the Crimean Peninsula’s reintegration with Russia as a result of a referendum amid conflict in Ukraine’s restive east.

In June that year, Poroshenko fully banned military cooperation with Russia.

Kiev put further restrictions on military ties with Russia in August 2014, when the country’s National Security and Defense Council instructed the government to reduce the export of military and dual-purpose goods to Russia.

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The council only made exceptions for space hardware Moscow used for research and space exploration for peaceful purposes as part of its contributions to international space projects.

Ukraine has been named as the world’s eighth exporter of armaments by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. According to a study cited by The Washington Post, around 70 percent of Ukraine's defense-related exports flowed to Russia before 2014, amounting to some $1 billion.

The Post reported in 2014 that various Ukrainian companies were providing the Russian military with a wide range of products, including around 300 helicopter engines, as well as gas-turbine engines for warships. Russia has already started replacing the products with domestic versions.

The daily also claimed that Russia’s heavy nuclear missiles such as the SS-18 Satan were designed by “Ukraine-based researchers” while many other Russian missiles relied on parts coming from Ukrainian factories. Russia has replaced the missile with a domestically-developed heavier version called RS-28 Sarmat.

The curtailment of military ties is expected to hit the Ukrainian military, since it is heavily dependent on Russian weapons. The country has managed to develop a robust air force by employing advanced Russian equipment such as the S-300, Buk and Osa air defense systems.

The US is planning to prevent Ukraine from using Russian tech by offering its own range of military products.

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