UKRAINA-(IDB) : Ukraine's arms exports in 2010 reached almost a billion dollars with the bulk of weaponry sold to African countries, the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper said on Monday.
"The portfolio of contracts signed by state-run arms exporter Ukrspetsexport increased in value from $799.5 in 2009 to $956.7 billion [in 2010]," the paper cited data released by the State Service for Export Control.
The leading buyers of Ukrainian weaponry are Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ukraine sold a total of 250 T-55 and T-72 tanks to both countries.
Sudan also bought Grad multiple rocket launchers, 122-mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, 152-mm 1S3 Akatsia self-propelled howitzers, D-30 howitzers, 82-mm mortars and a variety of small arms, including 10,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Ukraine sold a T-80BV main battle tank, built in 1985, to the United States and 14 air-to-air missiles commonly used by Libyan MiG fighter jets to Italy. Experts believe that Western countries buy small batches of Soviet-era weaponry for study purposes.
Former Ukrspetsexport director Sergei Bondarchuk dismissed the figures revealed by government authorities as unrealistic.
"I don't trust these figures. As far as I know, we only signed an option for a previous contract with Sudan last year and the rest are ongoing deliveries under contracts signed by the previous team," Bondarchuk told the paper.
Source: Defencetalk
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