The Kazakh government auctioned off 117 decommissioned Soviet-era military aircraft last October. These were MiG-31 fighters, MiG-27 fighter-bombers, MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 bombers produced in the 1970s and 1980s. Their declared value amounted to approximately 53 million crowns in conversion.
When the aforementioned websites reported that the US had purchased 81 of these aircraft through a network of intermediaries, there was immediate speculation that the material would end up in Ukraine, which still uses many of these machines. At the same time, it would not be the first delivery of weapons of Soviet origin that Western countries have procured for Ukraine in the world.
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“The information spread on the Internet does not correspond to reality,” the Kazakh state company Kazpecexport officially responded to the news about the sale of aircraft to the USA, stating that only Kazakh companies were allowed to participate in the tender and the condition of the purchase of the aircraft was their disposal. All aircraft are said to be disposed of on Kazakh territory and possibly exported only in the form of scrap.
For several years, Kazakhstan has been gradually replacing its aging fleet of Soviet-made fighter jets with modern aircraft such as the Russian Su-30SM multi-role aircraft, while also negotiating with Western manufacturers, the Kyiv Post website noted. Kazakhstan repeatedly emphasizes that it stands for good relations with Russia, but also cooperates with Western countries.
Last fall, the local government announced that it had banned the export of certain materials and technologies that have military uses to Russia.
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Tags: bought Soviet aircraft Kazakhstan writes Ukrainian website Astana refuses
