You're reading: Fears Ukraine has plans to sell Voevoda intercontinental ballistic missiles to third countries groundless

Fears that Ukraine has plans to sell the production technology of heavy class R-36M2 Voevoda intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to third countries published by the Foreign Ministry of Russia are groundless, and maybe someone is trying to rattle Moscow's nerves, a source in the Ukrainian aerospace sector has said.

“This is obvious nonsense. The MTCR [Missile Technology Control
Regime] is a regime in force, and even if someone wants to break it
today, it would be very hard to do this,” a high-rank military official
said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the statement
of the Foreign Ministry of Russia.

“I would not link this statement with Crimea and the crisis of the
international security system caused by the Russian aggression and
annexation of Crimea, as well as bilateral relations with Russia,” he
said.

“It’s difficult to say where it is coming from. Maybe it was done by
someone from Ukraine, who are not close to the MTCR, to rattle the
nerves of the northern neighbor,” he said, adding that he was certain no
head of any Ukrainian aerospace enterprise was responsible.

The Foreign Ministry of Russia on April 7 spread a statement in which
Russia said that Ukraine, as a member of the MTCR and a signatory to
the Hague Code of Conduct (HCC) to prevent the proliferation of
ballistic missiles, carries serious political obligations. In
particular, particular restraint shall be made when considering
transferring technology for constructing missiles capable of carrying a
payload of 500 kilograms over a distance of 300 kilometers.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that some media reports mentioned
negotiations by Ukraine’s Pivdenmash (Dnipropetrovsk) with
representatives of some countries on a possible sale of Voevoda ICBM
secrets.

“Despite the difficult political situation in Ukraine, the absence of
a legitimate sovereign power, the current leaders of Ukraine shall
exercise due responsibility and be fully compliant with obligations set
in MTCR and the HCC. Ukraine shall refrain from steps that could
undermine the existing nonproliferation regimes and their
non-proliferation delivery means of weapons of mass destruction,” reads
the statement of the Russian ministry.

The Missile Technology Control Regime is an informal and voluntary
association of countries which share the goals of non-proliferation of
unmanned delivery systems capable of delivering weapons of mass
destruction, and which seek to coordinate national export licensing
efforts aimed at preventing their proliferation. The MTCR was originally
established in 1987 by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
United Kingdom and the United States. Since that time, the number of
MTCR partners has increased to a total of 34 countries, all of which
have equal standing within the regime.

Ukraine joined the MTCR in 1998.

Today, Pivdenne Design Bureau (Dnipropetrovsk) is prolonging the
exploitation terms of ICBMs RS-20V in the interests of Russian Strategic
Missile Forces under an intergovernmental agreements signed in 2006.