Ukraine: Kuchma not welcome at NATO

Jane's ^ | November 7 2002

[knighthawk]

JID has learned that a report by the British-US led international team of experts who visited Ukraine last month to investigate the alleged sale of four Kolchuga radars systems to Iraq in the summer of 2000 will not openly accuse Ukraine of breaching UN sanctions. Instead, the report - to be issued this week - claims it was given 'insufficient evidence' to fully exonerate President Kuchma of breaching UN sanctions.

The report concludes that the Ukrainian authorities have failed to persuade the team that Ukraine did not export Kolchuga systems to Iraq. Both the West and Ukraine agree that a July 2000 meeting did take place at which Kuchma approved the sale. An illicitly made tape recording of the meeting has been authenticated by the FBI. However, the Ukrainian authorities and Western governments disagree on whether the Kolchugas were actually sent to Iraq.

The Ukrainian government insists that it has only sold three Kolchuga radar systems to Ethiopia, but none to Iraq. Western intelligence agencies are currently investigating whether Ethiopia is still in possession of these Kolchugas or if they have been shipped to another final destination.

Ethiopia's main external security threat is Eritrea, which does not have any sizeable air force against which the Kolchuga system would be useful. The Ethiopian defence budget is only approximately US$700 million, meaning the purchase of the system would have consumed around one seventh of the country's total arms and munitions spending.

JID has also learned that US intelligence operatives already had evidence that the Kolchugas were in Iraq before the international team visited Ukraine. This intelligence, together with the FBI authenticated tape recording of the July 2000 meeting, constituted the evidence on which the US publicly accused Ukraine at the end of September of violating UN sanctions against Iraq.

JID has discovered that the real purpose of the visit of the international team of experts to Ukraine was to collect intelligence on technical aspects of the Kolchuga radar system. With the USA gearing up for possible war with Iraq in early 2003, Washington needs to ensure it possesses air superiority. The highly mobile and easily concealed Kolchugas are believed to be responsible for the downing of an unmanned US drone over Iraq in 2001, the first to be shot down since the 'no fly zone' was created following the Gulf war. In return for providing technical specifications of the Kolchuga radar the US has agreed to not conclude in the report that it had definite proof that the Kolchugas are now in Iraq.

421 of 915 words [End of non-subscriber extract.]

[knighthawk]

Ping