Ukraine responds to Croatia’s alleged complaints about MiG-21s
Ukrspetsexport refutes the information that appeared in the media that the Croatian Ministry of Defense has brought claims against them because of poorly repaired MiG-21 fighters, and the very appearance of information is considered a manifestation of unfair competition from Russia.
“To date, there is no official claim or complaint from the Croatian Ministry of Defense to Ukrspetsexport. And we are forced to state the fact that the appearance of untrue information is due only to unfair competition from Russia. This is especially seen in the fact that Croatia invited Ukrspetsexport to participate in a deal for the overhaul of 10 Mi-171Sh helicopters belonging to the Croatian Ministry of Defense,” said the company.
“Ukrspetsexport provided all the necessary documents, and representatives of the customer checked the capabilities of one of the Ukrainian companies for overhauling the Mi-171Sh.
“However, despite the fact that the Ukrainian company has much more experience in overhauling this type of aircraft, as well as European Union sanctions against the Russian Federation, according to information obtained from the military edition of Defender.hr, Aviation Technical Center, which represents the interests of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic, concluded a contract with the company Russian Helicopters,” reported Ukrspetsexport.
The company also stated that the primary source of untruthful information about the MiG-21s was the Hungarian publication of Jutarnji Vijesti, which cited its own sources, and quotes from the publication were used by the Kremlin media.
A source in the defense sector said that the cause of the media campaign around the repair of the Croatian Mig-21 fighters was unfair competition in the world arms market and the high potential of Ukraine’s military technical cooperation in the field of aircraft engineering modernization.
“The contract for the overhaul and modernization of 12 MiG-21 fighters of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence at the Odessa Aviation Plant was provided in full accordance with Croatia’s requirements. The quality of the aircraft repair services is confirmed by the fact that Croatia signed for and accepted the aircraft. No official claims or customer complaints in connection with the quality of the aircraft repair services provided by Ukraine have been received,” the source stated.
Earlier, the Hungarian publication Jutarnji Vijesti reported that Croatia is demanding that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense replace four faulty MiG-21 aircraft which were purchased in Ukraine.