The US could buy more than 80 Soviet combat aircraft from Kazakhstan to transfer them to Ukraine
The Ukrainian Armed Forces may disassemble them for spare parts or use them as fake targets, experts say
The United States could have purchased 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan through offshore structures for further transfer to Ukraine. These are Su-24 frontline bombers, MiG-23 and MiG-29 fighters, and MiG-27 fighter-bombers.
Source. This was reported by the Kyiv Post.
According to the newspaper, all the aircraft were sold for recycling. The tender allowed for the sale of the equipment to a foreign bidder, and a fine was provided for failure to fulfil the obligation to dispose of the aircraft, which allowed the aircraft to be kept and transferred to Kyiv.
It is assumed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will disassemble the aircraft for spare parts or even use them as fake targets at airfields, the Kyiv Post notes.
In total, the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan put up for sale 117 fighters, including Su-24 and MiG. The ministry said in a statement that the equipment could no longer be used due to wear and tear.
The planes were put up for sale on 26 October, according to an e-auction. The starting price was over 1 billion tenge (over $2.2 million). At the same time, as of the end of April 2024, the announcement states that the auction was not held.
The state-owned enterprise Kazspetsexport, which conducted the auction, denied that Kazakhstan had sold Soviet fighters to foreign companies. They also stressed that the process of utilising the equipment was "fully controlled by the balance holders".
In March, the propaganda outlet RIA Novosti reported, citing a source, that Ukrspetsexport was negotiating the purchase of Russian military products in Kazakhstan. However, the Kazakh Ministry of Defence denied this. The ministry reminded that after the Russian invasion began, the country imposed a ban on the export of military products.
Background. To recap, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Ilya Yevlash, said that F-16 fighter jets should appear in the Ukrainian sky after Easter.
Meanwhile, at the end of April, the first Ukrainian pilots arrived in France to train on F-16s. After a fast-track course, they will spend another four months of adaptation in Romania.
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