29 December 2016

Russia: Ukraine's Ban on Military Exports Not a Big Problem



MOSCOW — A senior Russian military official says domestic industries have learned to produce engines and other parts previously imported from Ukraine.

Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said in a Tuesday interview with online Gazeta.ru that the lack of supplies from Ukraine hasn't had a significant impact on Russia's military capability. Borisov says Russia acted quickly to develop the industrial capacity to supply its own military hardware.

Ukraine cut all military exports to Russia after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for a pro-Russia insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Until then, Russia had depended on Ukrainian defense industries to provide numerous components for its weapons, the legacy of close ties between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

Borisov says Russia has launched its own production of helicopter engines and ship turbines that previously were purchased from Ukraine.

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