Vladyslav Belbas, director of Ukrainian Armor, said in an interview with Ekonomichna Pravda that Russia used diplomatic pressure in an unnamed country to disrupt a contract to supply Ukraine with aircraft.
According to him, the company has started negotiating the purchase of fighter jets from a country "on the other side of the planet".
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the aircraft were needed, and the seller was ready to sell them. However, one of the letters about the deal fell into the hands of the Russians.
"Very soon, a representative of the Russian embassy in this country started going around with this letter and threatening local officials that Russia would close down some projects for this country," Belbas said.
According to him, the deal eventually fell through because the supplier country changed its mind about offering the fighter jets.