Portugal to send six Kamov firefighting helicopters to Ukraine

At the end of the meeting with NATO defence ministers in Brussels on 13 October, Helena Carreiras, Portugal’s Minister of National Defence, announced that the country would be giving six Kamov firefighting helicopters to Ukraine to use in the war against Russia.

Portugal is unable to use or maintain these aircraft because of the sanctions imposed on Russia, so they will be transferred to Ukraine in their current state: none of them hold airworthiness certificates so need repairs, and one is inoperable due to a crash.

Carreiras said: “At the request of Ukraine and in conjunction with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we will make available to Ukraine our fleet of Kamov helicopters which, due to the current scenario, the sanctions imposed on Russia, we are no longer able to operate. In fact, they do not have their airworthiness certificates and we will not even be able to repair them."

The condition of the helicopters is already known by the Ukrainians, and they will be “transferred as they are … as soon as possible”, said Carreiras.

Helicopters are not the only aerial equipment deployed to Ukraine, Draganfly deployed medical drones to the country earlier this year.