The six Kamov firefighting helicopters that Portugal offered to Ukraine more than a year ago are still in the country, awaiting instructions from Portuguese authorities in Kiev, the Defense Ministry told Lusa on Tuesday.
“The Kamov helicopters transferred to Ukraine at the request of the Kiev authorities are on national territory, awaiting an indication from the Ukrainian counterpart on the next steps to be taken,” indicates the Ministry of National Defense in a response to the Lusa agency.
The ministry, supervised by Helena Carreiras, also adds that “regular contacts are maintained between the Ministry of National Defense and its Ukrainian interlocutors, and that last quarter there was a technical visit of the logistics branch of the donor group to the place where the planes are parked.” .
The six heavy Kamov firefighting helicopters, without a license to operate in Portugal because they are of Russian origin, are unserviceable and parked at Ponte de Sor airport, in the Portalegre district.
The announcement of the Kamovs’ shipment to Ukraine was made in October 2022 by Helena Carreiras, a decision criticized at the time by Moscow, which considered it a “violation of its contractual obligations”.
Russian diplomacy believed that the Portuguese government’s decision to send six Kamov firefighting helicopters to Ukraine, to help in the fight against the Russian invasion, is a “breach of contractual obligations” on the part of Lisbon, referring to the fact that they are aircraft of Russian origin.
In June this year, the Minister of Defense stated that preparations for sending the Kamovs were being planned.
Of the state’s six heavy helicopters, one has been in an accident since 2012, two others have been under repair since 2015, and the remaining three Kamovs have been idle since early 2018.
The Kamovs were taken over by the Ministry of the Interior in 2006, then led by current Prime Minister António Costa.
Source: DN
