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MAZ supplying equipment for military operation in eastern Ukraine

Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) has been contracted to supply 52 pieces of equipment for the Ukrainian government’s military operation against pro-Russian militants in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook.

Some of the equipment has already been deployed in the area of the anti-terrorist operation, but contractual payments have not yet been made in full, Mr. Avakov said. According to him, the hardware, namely, artillery tractors, platforms, trucks and “kungs” [standardized military vehicle module/trailer system],” is due to be delivered by August 30 and paid for upon delivery and testing. The contract is worth 43,170,000 Ukrainian hryvnias ($3.5 million), he said.

Mr. Avakov explained that Ukrainian companies were not keeping up with the demand for military equipment, which was why he had ordered contracts to be signed with MAZ and Russian truck maker KamAZ.

Mr. Avakov dismissed any criticism of his decision, noting that it would have been wrong to “sit and wait” for Ukrainian companies for three months. “To have done otherwise would have meant being the proverbial idiot who buys a ticket to spite the ticket collector and then go on foot,” he said. // BelaPAN