Back in October 2022, Portugal decided to hand a batch of helicopters over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Six Soviet-era Ka-32A11VS choppers were impossible to maintain because of sanctions imposed on russia, the service provider.
The transfer wasn't supposed to take long, yet despite multiple subsequent military aid shipments from Lisbon, the helicopters remained in Portuguese hangars. Finally, the last truck loaded with Ka-32A11VS departed for Ukraine September 6th, SIC Noticia reports.
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This concludes the transfer of all six units, "after a long period of uncertainty and negotiations," as noted by Portugal's Ministry of National Defense.
Important to note, these old rotorcraft were bought in 2007, one even crashed in 2012, so overall they could only be seen as inoperable donors of spare parts for repair of other machines.
The reporters recall statements made November 2023 by the previous government: the officials said they were waiting for instructions from the Ukrainian side at the time, while the helicopters were still in Portugal, more than a year after the commitment to transfer.
Defense Express notes, in the same November 2023, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced early parliamentary elections for March 2024, followed by the government reconfiguration.
Apparently, these processes slowed down the implementation of the helicopter agreement, which ultimately required coordination between the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Ukrainian authorities — the Ministry of Defense and the Embassy.
Considering that Portugal did not have the opportunity to provide service to the helicopters, the journalists add, a decision was made to transfer the helicopters "in the state of conservation in which they were found," without any further details. For a reminder, one of the six was involved in an accident, and the condition of the other five is unknown.
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