MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The United States’ decision to supply to Ukraine a batch of helicopters of Russian manufacture that were originally meant for Afghanistan is a crude violation of international law and Russian-US contracts, the federal service for military-technical cooperation FSVTS said on Wednesday.

"The United States’ arbitrary decision to re-export the "Afghan" helicopters to Ukraine is a crude violation of the basics of international law and Russian-US contractual documents," the service said.

The FSVTS expressed protest against any illegal handover to Ukraine or other countries any weapons or military equipment of Russian (or Soviet) manufacture including the helicopters that the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport provided under a major contract with the Pentagon concluded back in 2011.

"This contract and the corresponding end user certificates testify that the helicopters are to be handed by the American side to the armed forces of Afghanistan and prohibited from re-export or transfer to any third country other than the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan without Russia’s consent," the FSVTS said.