These helicopters cannot be operated in Portugal due to EU sanctions.
Portugal will hand over to Ukraine six Soviet-made Kamov helicopters, which were deprived of their operating license due to anti-Russian sanctions.
Portuguese Defense Minister Helena Carreiras announced this following the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, reports Observador.
"At the request of Ukraine and in coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we will put at the disposal of Ukraine our fleet of Kamov helicopters, which, due to the current scenario, the sanctions imposed on Russia, we can no longer operate, in fact they do not have airworthiness certificates, and we won't even be able to repair them," Carreiras explained.
She stressed that the helicopters would be "extremely useful for Ukraine, and our Ukrainian colleagues were very grateful for the assistance."
One of the helicopters broke down as a result of the accident, so the Ukrainian side must repair it, the head of the Portuguese Ministry of Defense specified.
Carreiras noted that Portugal would try to transfer these helicopters to Kyiv as soon as possible.
She also confirmed Portugal's readiness to participate in the EU training mission to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but the forms of such participation are still being discussed.
- Portugal has already transferred to Ukraine certain types of equipment, weapons, ammunition, armored vehicles, communication systems and drones, and medical supplies, and also expressed its readiness to accept refugees and wounded fighters and train Ukrainian military personnel.
- As of the end of July, Lisbon has provided Kyiv with 315 tons of military aid to counter a full-blown Russian attack.
