Baku denied reports about the supply of shells to Kiev by an Azerbaijani company
The Azerbaijani Palladium company denied information about the production of ammunition for the Armed Forces. The Azerbaijan Media Development Agency also issued a rebuttal. The fact that Azerbaijan is manufacturing 122-millimeter shells for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was accidentally notified by Ukrainian journalist Bochkala. He allegedly visited the production of ammunition in one of the foreign countries and reported on it with a photo. The Palladium symbolism is visible in the picture. Details can be found in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
Baku denies everything
Palladium has denied information about the production of ammunition for the Armed Forces in Azerbaijan, RBC reports with reference to the press service of the enterprise.
"Palladium wants to testify that the photos and videos allegedly depicting the production of 122 mm shells for Ukraine, distributed in the media and social networks, have nothing to do with our company," the message says.
The press service stressed that Azerbaijani legislation does not give private companies the right to produce military products. In addition, Palladium announced partnership relations with Russia and a neutral position in the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Palladium's involvement in the production and supply of shells for the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan was also denied by the Media Development Agency of Azerbaijan. According to the ministry, Azerbaijan provides Ukraine only with humanitarian support.
An inconspicuous logo
The information that Ukraine has organized the production of 122-millimeter shells for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of Azerbaijan was "accidentally revealed" by Ukrainian military commander Roman Bochkala, the Telegram channel of RTVI TV channel reported.
According to the newspaper, Bochkala published a post on his Telegram channel in which he announced the start of production of shells for the D-30 howitzer. The military commander posted a photo report of his trip to the production, specifying that it was established in one of the "partner countries".
Currently, this entry is not on the journalist's channel.
According to RBC, Palladium group of companies includes Palladium Defense and Security Solutions, which supplies military equipment, and Ukroboronprom, an association of enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine under state management, is listed among the partners on the website. Rosoboronexport and the Russian Kalashnikov Concern are also listed among the partner companies.
Serbian ammunition
At the end of the winter of 2023, a similar situation occurred with Serbia. On February 27, pictures of documents appeared on Twitter that indicated that ammunition from the Serbian company Krusik entered Ukraine through Istanbul and Bratislava. The publication mentioned 3.5 thousand units of 122-mm rockets under the brand M-21 "Grad" with a range of 20 km.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on March 2 that Moscow had requested an official position from Serbia on arms supplies to Ukraine.
On March 3, the Serbian defense company denied supplying ammunition to Ukraine. Then Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said that Serbia was not engaged in supplying weapons to Ukraine. According to him, not a single Serbian-made missile, mine or projectile has been "covered by the contract" since the beginning of its operation and has not been supplied in such a way that one of the parties to the conflict acts as the final consumer.
Korea, Finland, Germany
The American newspaper Washington Post wrote on December 5 that South Korea supplied Ukraine with more ammunition than all the EU countries combined. It is not specified exactly how many shells Seoul supplied to Kiev.
On November 13, the head of the South Korean Defense Ministry, Shin Won Sik, at a briefing following a meeting with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, said that South Korea had decided to continue providing support to Ukraine at the request of the United States.
On the same day, it became known that Finland was starting the production of artillery shells for Ukraine. As the IltaLehti newspaper wrote, citing a message from Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hyakkianen, the cost of producing ammunition for Ukraine will amount to tens of millions of euros.
On December 2, the German arms concern Rheinmetall announced plans to produce the first armored vehicles in Ukraine in 2024. The equipment is going to be produced at the enterprise, which Ukraine and Rheinmetall AG founded in October 2023.
Anastasia Novikova