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Ukraine is scheduled ship armoured personnel carriers to Iraq in February. The first shipment of BTR-4 armored personnel carriers built in Kharkiv under a contract signed in 2009 to supply over $550 million worth of Ukrainian armaments and hardware to Iraq will be delivered to the client in February, an informed source told Interfax.

"The delivery of 26 armored personnel carriers is planned for late February," he said.

The delivery was planned for late 2010 at first, but Ukraine and Iraq suspended the supplies for full testing of the armored personnel carriers to tactical and technical characteristics.

"The time of the second delivery will be specified when the client accepts the first shipment," the source said.

The Progress foreign trade company, a subsidiary of Ukrspecexport, signed the over $550 million contract with Iraq in 2009. The contract was expected to start a series of military-technical cooperation agreements.

According to the contract, Ukraine will supply over 400 pieces of armor, including BTR-4, and six Antonov An-32 aircraft and will repair aircraft within 3-3.5 years.

The Ukrainian media said several days ago that the Iraqi Defense Ministry refused to accept the armored personnel carriers produced in Kharkiv and the largest defense order in Ukraine was endangered. The administration of the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau put the blame on gun producers from Kamianets-Podilsky. The shortcomings were exposed when Iraqis were examining the armored personnel carriers.