Ukraine's past deal with Russia: From debt relief to conflict
Russian bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-160, which are involved in attacks on Ukraine, once belonged to the nation they are now targeting. Twenty-five years ago, Ukraine transferred these aircraft to Russia in exchange for cancelling part of its debts. Along with the aircraft, Russia received engines and Kh-55 missiles.
4:38 PM EST, November 27, 2024
According to an analysis of documents signed by Russia and Ukraine in 1999, some of the aircraft involved in the Russian attacks were transferred to Russia by Ukraine itself. This discovery by the Ukrainian editorial office of Radio Svoboda and the Ukrainian investigative journalism project Schemes, is reported by Defence 24.
The interstate agreement made 25 years ago included the transfer of Ukrainian Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers to Russia, along with their engines and spare parts, as well as air armament in the form of Kh-55 cruise missiles. One of these missiles, without a warhead, fell in Poland near Bydgoszcz in December 2022.
Both the mentioned aircraft and the transferred missiles were used a quarter of a century later in attacks on Ukraine. Former Ukrainian aircraft participated, among other things, in the attack on the Kyiv Ochmatdyt children's hospital.
The price Russia paid for the strategic bombers was the cancellation of Ukraine's debts for gas supplies.
Overvalued aircraft for debt cancellation
Radio Svoboda confirmed data from the documents by analyzing publicly available photographs of both the aircraft and their crews. This way, the Tu-95MS bomber, which flew as a Ukrainian aircraft with the number "8" on its fuselage, was identified and is currently known as "Izbrosk" as a Russian machine.
After the transfer, these aircraft were used by Russia during raids in Syria and for diplomatic visits abroad, such as a flight to Venezuela. They are currently used to attack Ukraine.
In total, Ukraine transferred to Russia 11 bombers, 575 rockets, and 11 turboprop engines for the Tu-95. The parts transferred in 1999 filled 124 railcars.
According to Radio Svoboda's findings, the transferred weapons led to the cancellation of Ukrainian gas debts valued at $275 million. The aircraft and missiles were transferred without ratification by the Ukrainian parliament at an undervalued price—their market value at that time was approximately $2.5 billion.
