Russia blocks deal to give Ukraine new weapons 

A Ukrainian defense industry official has accused Russia of interfering with the negotiated sale of fighter jets from another country.

During an interview last week with the Ukrainian website Economic Truth, Vladislav Belbas, director of Ukrainian Armored, claimed Moscow had sabotaged a deal in place with an unnamed country for an unspecified number of aircraft to be used in the war against Russia.

Ukrainian Armored is a privately-held company that specializes in manufacturing armored vehicles and weapons for the Ukrainian military. The company also works to procure arms from other nations for Ukraine.In August, an investigation by The New York Times found Ukrainian Armored had become the biggest private arms supplier in Ukraine during the war with Russia.

Yet, despite Ukrainian Armored’s financial resources, Belbas said the company was not able to complete at least one deal for fighter jets after Russian officials intervened.

“In one country on the other side of the planet, we found fighter jets and began negotiating a purchase,” Belbas told Economic Truth. “The seller was ready, and the Ministry of Defense confirmed they were needed. Suddenly, one of the letters about this agreement fell into the hands of the Russians.”

Belbas continued: “Very soon, a representative of the Russian embassy in this country began walking around with this letter and threatening local officials that Russia would shut down any projects for this country. In the end, the deal broke down because the supplier country changed its mind about offering these fighters.”

Newsweek reached out to the ministries of foreign affairs for Ukraine and Russia via email on Thursday for comment.

Belbas didn’t name the country where the alleged deal fell apart, but the Kyiv Post on Thursday said Russian military bloggers and commentators have claimed the other country involved could have been Peru, and the jets being sought after were MiG-29s.

The Kyiv Post also noted that a Voice of America report from January 2023 detailed efforts by the United States to obtain weapons from Latin American countries for Ukraine. According to the report, the plan would see these countries trade Soviet-era weapons, which Ukrainian troops could begin using right away, for more modern U.S. equipment.

During the interview with Economic Truth, Belbas also discussed other ways in which Russia has managed to undermine Ukraine’s defense industry. He said perhaps the “biggest bottleneck” in terms of ammunition production was Russia sabotaging Ukraine’s ability to make gunpowder.

“There is no gunpowder production in Ukraine, and it is impractical to build such a plant during the war,” Belbas said. “As soon as such a plant appears, the Russians will destroy it.”