Portugal transfers 6 transport helicopters to Ukraine
Portugal decided to hand over to Ukraine six Soviet-made Kamov helicopters, which were stripped of their operating license due to the sanctions imposed against Russia.
According to Censor.NЕТ, this is stated by "European truth" with reference to Observador.
Portuguese Defense Minister Elena Carreiras announced this on Thursday following a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels.
"At Ukraine's request and in coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we will make available to Ukraine our fleet of Kamov helicopters, which because of the current scenario, the sanctions imposed on Russia, we can no longer operate, in fact they have no airworthiness certificates and we can't even repair them," Carreiras said.
She stressed that the helicopters would be "extremely useful for Ukraine, and our Ukrainian colleagues were very grateful for the help." One of the helicopters broke down as a result of an accident, so the Ukrainian side must repair it, the head of the Portuguese Ministry of Defense specified.
The idea is that the transfer of the equipment will take place "more quickly," Carreiras noted.
She also confirmed Portugal's readiness to participate in the European Union's training mission to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but the forms of such participation have not yet been discussed.
Portugal has already transferred some types of equipment, weapons, ammunition, armored vehicles, communications systems and drones, medical supplies to Ukraine, and has expressed its readiness to receive refugees and wounded fighters and train Ukrainian servicemen.
