Kyiv Did Not Gift Us Weapons, We Purchased Them for Millions of Dollars: Georgia Is Not Prepared to Provide Ukraine with Buk Systems

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has stated that the Buk missile systems were not gifted to Georgia by Ukraine in 2008; rather, these systems were purchased by Georgia in 2007.

It is worth noting that the day before, Andrei Kasyanov, the Temporary Chargé d'Affaires of Ukraine in Georgia, announced that Ukraine had requested Georgia to return the Buk missile systems that Kyiv had provided to Tbilisi during the 2008 war.

The diplomat also mentioned that Kyiv had asked Tbilisi to transfer the Javelin anti-tank systems, which were provided to Georgia by the U.S.

The statement from the Georgian Ministry of Defense emphasized, “The information that Ukraine provided the Buk air defense systems to Georgia free of charge does not correspond to reality. The Georgian military agency acquired the Buk systems in 2007, making a multi-million dollar purchase conducted under a classified agreement, and therefore, we cannot provide additional details.”

The Georgian military authority further stated that tens of millions of dollars were also paid for Javelin anti-tank systems in 2017.

“Georgia continues to provide humanitarian and political support to Ukraine within its capabilities. Evidence of this includes the humanitarian loads, including generators, which have been purchased and transferred to Ukraine at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Georgia. Regarding the transfer of weapons or dual-use technology to Ukraine, the Georgian leadership has repeatedly expressed its clear position on this issue,” the statement concluded.