SIMFEROPOL, May 13. /TASS/. Russia will be forced to dispose of Ukrainian military hardware abandoned in Crimea since 2014, if Kiev fails to collect it by the end of a ten-year period, the chairman of the State Duma’s defense committee, former Airborne Troops commander Vladimir Shamanov told TASS on Monday.

"First and foremost this is a task of the Ukrainian leadership (to take care of the Ukrainian military equipment, including ships and planes, in Crimea). In accordance with international rules they have a ten-year deadline to collect the hardware. Otherwise we will have to scrap everything that is out of operation and keeps aging and rusting. We have seen no modern samples. As for those in stock, they are of no interest to the Russian armed forces," Shamanov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of 2018 said that Russia was prepared to return Ukraine’s military hardware to Kiev, although its condition left much to be desired. Dozens of ships and planes are in question. Putin believes Ukrainian military officials might arrive in Crimea to take their ships to Odessa.