The acting head of “Spetstechnoexport” (STE) Oleksiy Petrov wrote a statement to the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Vasyl Malyuk for the documents of the contracts for the supply of Indian-made projectiles to Ukraine leaked to the journalists of the Ukrainian Pravda (UP) publication.
Oleksiy Petrov said this in an interview with Babel.
"The consequences of the publication of these contracts are the responsibility of journalists and those officials who passed on sensitive official information," he said, adding that by doing so they committed a crime and harmed the state.
According to him, Ukraine had a stable supply channel. And now foreign intermediaries have reported serious reputational losses and the threat of disruption of supplies under already concluded contracts.
In 2010, the state-owned enterprise "Spetstechnoexport" entered the structure of the "Ukroboronprom" concern and opened a representative office in India in the same year. After the start of the full-scale invasion, STE came under the control of the Ministry of Defense, and in August 2022 — the Main Directorate of Intelligence (known as GUR). Currently, "Spetstechnoexport" has been placed under the direct management of the Ministry of Defense.
In September, the Reuters agency reported with reference to numerous sources that ammunition from India was arriving in Ukraine, despite Russiaʼs protests. Indian shells are supplied by European companies, and have been doing so for over a year. Meanwhile, India does not interfere or stop the trade.
- India traditionally has deep partnerships with Russia. In particular, it actively purchased Russian weapons and energy resources. However, after Western sanctions against Russia, India stopped receiving weapons from the Russian Federation, as countries are looking for a payment method that does not violate restrictions. Instead, in 2022, New Delhi imported ten times more Russian oil than the year before, refusing to join the sanctions against Russia. India also abstained from UN resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and condemning the invasion of the Russian Federation.
- Currently, India is carefully building international relations with both Russia and Ukraine. It remains an important trade partner of the Russian Federation, but also, among other things, sent its representative to the Ukrainian Peace Summit in Switzerland ( although it did not sign the joint communique ) and declared its readiness to mediate in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
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