The Kremlin's special military operation consumes military equipment. To replenish its workforce, Moscow is seeking to recover defense systems it had sold to Pakistan, Egypt, Brazil and Belarus, the Wall Street Journal reveals. According to our American colleagues, a Russian delegation went to Cairo last April to obtain the return of a hundred helicopter engines. "Sisi has agreed and deliveries of about 150 engines are expected to begin next month," the newspaper said.
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Egypt was one of the main outlets for the Russian arms trade, before the start of the war in Ukraine. She had not been able to pay all her bills for fear of falling foul of US sanctions. In addition, it wanted to sell missiles to Russia, but had given up under pressure from Washington. Russia had demanded the return of 150 Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopter engines in exchange for forgetting the arrears. This information has not been confirmed by Egyptian officials.
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In addition, Moscow has asked Pakistan for the return of four Mi-35M helicopter engines, which it had sold to Pakistan. According to our colleagues, Russia has also offered to buy back 12 Mi-35M helicopter engines, which were withdrawn from service last year. A request rejected by Brasilia. Finally, Belarus, a loyal vassal of the Kremlin, sold six Mi-26 helicopter engines.
The Russian army has lost 325 helicopters since the outbreak of the war on February 24, 2022, according to Ukraine, or nearly 30% of its workforce. The counteroffensive, launched in June, is "at a stalemate," Ukrainian army commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny acknowledged. Russia was the world's second-largest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) until 2022 when France took the place.