The US newspaper described Russia’s push to buy back the weapons it had exported in an article published on Wednesday.
In April, a delegation of Russian officials asked Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to return more than 100 helicopter engines to be reused in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Egypt’s head of state has agreed, with some 150 engines likely to be given back to Russia starting in December, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported.
Russia has also held talks with Belarus, Brazil and Pakistan, seeking to buy back engines for its attack on Ukraine and replace transport helicopters its army had lost to Ukraine’s defences in the early stages of the war, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources including a Russian ex-intelligence officer.
Russia has also cut back on its lucrative arms exports due to the war, with weaponry intended for countries such as India and Armenia now sent to the frontlines in Ukraine instead, according to the US newspaper.
The Wall Street Journal wrote: "Much of Moscow’s efforts to buy back Russian arms have come as the Kremlin pushed back against an offensive by Ukraine’s forces in the east and south of the country. With that offensive now slowing, Russia is seeking to retake the initiative on the battlefield, although it is unclear whether the new supplies will give Moscow the resources it needs to step up its attacks."
Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops shelled nine regions of Ukraine: Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, and Kherson, according to regional officials.
At least five people were killed by the Russian shelling, with a further five injured, Ukraine’s official war.ukraine.ua website reported.
By Wednesday morning, Russia’s combat losses during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, had reached 307,640 troops, as well as 5,301 tanks, 322 aircraft and 324 helicopters, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Wednesday is day 623 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm/gs)
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ukrainska Pravda, war.ukraine.ua
