As Moscow attempts to replenish the massive supplies of weaponry being squandered for the war in Ukraine, Russia has attempted to reclaim parts from the defence systems it provided to countries like Pakistan, Egypt, Belarus and Brazil, a report in The Wall Street Journal said. The report stated that Russian officials are talking with officials of Egypt, Pakistan, Belarus and Brazil to acquire engines for Russian attack and transport helicopters.
The report states that Russia has asked Pakistan to provide at least four Mi-35M engines from helicopters that it previously sold the country. However, the Pakistani foreign ministry said that Moscow has not contacted them over the matter.
According to three persons with knowledge of the situation in April of last year, a group of Russian officials who were in Cairo asked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to send back more than a hundred Russian helicopter engines that Moscow required for Ukraine. The insiders claimed that Egypt agreed and delivery of roughly 150 engines is anticipated to begin the following month.
These discussions were part of a bigger Russian effort to enlist the aid of its devoted military clients, who have been purchasing Russian planes, missiles, and air defence systems for decades, making Moscow the second-largest arms exporter in the world.
According to one of those people and another former Russian intelligence officer, Russia held conversations with representatives from Pakistan, Belarus, and Brazil throughout the year in an attempt to obtain engines for the Russian attack and transport helicopters that its forces had lost to Ukrainian defenders early in the conflict.
A source familiar with the buybacks stated, “Russia spent decades building its arms trade. Now they’re going back in secret to their customers trying to buy back what they sold them.” Other times, based on the two individuals, Russia has given up a portion of its lucrative arms export industry to help in the conflict by diverting weapons intended for Armenia and India to Russia’s front lines.
Russia is increasing its own manufacture of ammunition, spare parts and weaponry systems in tandem with its drive to restock its arsenal through export requisitions and buybacks. This is done to sustain the battle, which is rapidly entering its third year and depleting vast amounts of material. Additionally, Russia’s military apparatus has added more weaponry from allies, particularly North Korea.
Moscow has made significant attempts to repurchase Russian weaponry as the country’s forces in the east and south of Ukraine have launched an onslaught. Russia is attempting to regain the upper hand in combat now that the advance has slowed, though it is uncertain if the additional supplies will provide Moscow the means to intensify its assaults.
Konrad Muzyka, director of Rochan Consulting, military analysts based in Poland informed, “We don’t know the extent to which they’ll use the stocks to increase their tempo of attack or just keep up their current tempo.”
It was not long after reports surfaced that Egypt was considering supplying Russia with missiles when the Russian delegation arrived in Cairo. Under pressure from the United States, Cairo abandoned the idea. The United States then requested that Egypt provide weapons to Ukraine in order to assist that nation with an ammo shortfall.
The Russians sought to make sure that the close ties between Egypt and Russia, which had enjoyed cordial relations for decades, persisted when they arrived in Egypt shortly after. Egypt was a significant client for Moscow, which since 2014 had inked multiple multibillion-dollar contracts with Egypt for Russian fighter aircraft, helicopters, and air defence systems.
Later, in March, Egypt withdrew from several of those agreements because of concern about US penalties. Moreover, sanctions that limited Russia’s use of the SWIFT payments clearing system prevented Cairo from paying for the fraction of the armaments it did get.
According to the three sources, the Russians asked Egypt to return 150 engines for the Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters it had sold to Egypt after the agreement to transfer missiles to Russia was called off. They also encouraged Egypt to act swiftly to evade American notice. Russia promised to cancel Egypt’s debt in return and to keep supplying Egypt with essential wheat supplies. According to two persons acquainted with the matter, Russia threatened to withdraw its advisors related to the arms sector if Egypt refused. Several hundred of these advisers are stationed in Egypt by Russia.
The Egyptian president consented when he and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in July for an African nations meeting hosted by Russia in St. Petersburg. As per two individuals with cognizance of the matter, he also informed Putin that he would not dispatch the missiles to Ukraine that he had pledged to the Americans.
Regarding whether Egypt was returning the engines, the spokesperson for the Egyptian government Diaa Rashwan remained silent. Considering the numerous regional challenges at its doorstep, he declared Cairo would not jeopardize its own security. “Egypt, irrespective of the depth of its positive engagements with any country, including Russia is not willing to give up its armed capabilities to another entity.”
However, according to the three sources, Egypt intends to begin shipping roughly 150 engines probably in December. How many engines Egypt intended to send back remained unknown. The episode depicts the convoluted histories of Egypt, the United States, and Russia.
Egypt used Soviet weapons throughout the Cold War before shifting to the United States in more recent years. Nonetheless, Cairo and Russia continue to have some arms trade relations. According to one of the sources, the United States, which views Egypt as a vital ally in the Middle East, has approved certain Egyptian agreements with Russia but has threatened to impose sanctions on others. A spokesman for the Pentagon declined to comment.
Due to its increased armament requirements, Russia has had to reduce its exports and has occasionally fallen short of agreements, especially when it comes to land force armament systems. Almost half of Russia’s projected $14.5 billion in armament exports in 2021 was probably only $8 billion in 2018. For example, Armenia has not received many shipments of ammunition for multiple-rocket launcher systems like Grad and Uragan from Russia. As a result, when Azerbaijan retook control of the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in September, Armenian soldiers lacked weapons.
Additionally, Russia stopped selling a few exports to India. The person unveiled, “In some cases, the Defense Ministry requisitioned the arms systems before they even left the factories.” Queries were not answered by the Russian government or JSC Rosoboronexport, the country’s state-owned military export company.
Brazil retired its Mi-35M military helicopters last year and Moscow has asked that Brazil buy back 12 of those engines. According to a representative of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, the nation declined because it is against supplying weapons to any party involved in the conflict. Six Mi-26 heavy-transport helicopter engines were sold back to Moscow by Belarus, one of Russia’s most steadfast friends, the source added. A request for comment was not answered by Belarus’ presidential office, but according to two of the sources contacted for this report, Belarus had consented.
Helicopters have been an essential component of Russia’s front-line forces since the start of the invasion, which made them susceptible to Ukrainian air defences early in the conflict. Over 100 helicopters were lost by Russia in the first few weeks of the conflict. Russia deployed its rotary-wing aircraft to fire the effective Lightweight Multipurpose Guided Missiles and laser-guided Vikhr missiles from behind the front line as the front line strengthened.
The missiles played a crucial role in Russia’s victory against Ukraine’s offensive throughout the summer and were deployed in larger quantities during Moscow’s attempt, some weeks ago, to seize the town of Avdiivka in the Donbas, marking the nation’s first offensive operations in months. Muzyka remarked, “The operational tempo of Russia’s rotary-wing fleet is quite high, especially since the start of the Ukrainian offensive, when they were used along with trenches and mines to slow down the advances.”
