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Ukraine signs multi-million dollar arms contracts, gets lethal weapons — defense official

Kiev has signed a deal on supplies of drones and electronic warfare with France’s Thales Group

KIEV, February 27. /TASS/. Ukraine has signed multi-million dollar contracts on exports and imports of weapons at the IDEX-2015 exhibition this week in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, the first deputy chief of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said on Friday.

"We have concluded the contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and on exports and imports [of weapons]," Oleg Gladkovsky told a briefing, adding that Kiev has signed a deal on supplies of drones and electronic warfare with France’s Thales Group.

The official said "the majority contracts have been reached with US companies," but refused to give further details.

Asked if the Ukrainian troops will have new lethal weapons at their disposal, Gladovsky replied: "We are in contact with the whole world. We do get lethal weapons."

Earlier this week, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced concluding contracts on arms supply to Ukraine at the IDEX-2015 arms exhibition in the United Arab Emirates. "During the IDEX-2015 arms exhibition Ukraine has concluded some 20 contracts on arms supplies," he said. According to the president, European, American and Middle Eastern companies will supply defensive weapons to Ukraine.

Poroshenko also announced signing several agreements on export supplies of Ukrainian defense industry products worth several dozen million dollars. The Ukrainian leader stressed that it's very important to get foreign currency revenues for modernization of the country's armed forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in mid-February said Russia has information that Ukraine is already receiving weapons from abroad. Putin said he is certain the arms supplies will only make the number of victims of the conflict in eastern Ukraine grow, though the result will remain the same. "The overwhelming majority of Ukraine’s troops don’t want to take part in the fratricidal war, far away from their own homes, but the Donbas militias are determined to defend their families," he said.