Thales targeted by kyiv. An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses on Twitter, Friday, April 22, the French defense equipment group Thales of having circumvented sanctions and sold in 2015 to Russia equipment used in Ukraine to kill civilians.
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These accusations follow those of the online media Disclose in mid-March, according to which France delivered military equipment, including thermal cameras, to Russia between 2015 and 2020, i.e. after the European sanctions which followed the annexation of Crimea by Moscow.
Mikhailo Podolyak, the president’s adviser, relays the video of a Ukrainian blogger who analyzes the damage caused to a car in which the body of a woman killed in Boutcha, near kyiv, was found. “How could poorly trained Russian soldiers shoot so accurately with old post-Soviet equipment?”he asks himself.
According to him, the Russian armored vehicles are equipped “fire control systems that allow them to fire with great precision whatever the weather, the wind or even the time of day. Components and technology sold to the Russian Federation by the French company Thales”.
A tiny car of the French brand. A family was trying to escape but was killed by murderers. Killed, as it is now proved, with French weapons sold in circumvention of sanctions in 2015. Anyone in who tries to make up to must see the result of their actions. pic.twitter.com/adlHG4Cv2C
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) April 22, 2022
The blogger then shows a thermal camera, which he claims was recovered from an abandoned Russian tank. The Thales logo is visible there, accompanied by the date 06/16 and the words “made in Russia”. “It was assembled in Russia under license”accuses the blogger. “This is just one of many schemes allowing French companies to circumvent the embargo”he believes.
Asked by AFP, the group denied: “Thales has always strictly complied with French and international regulations, including with regard to the application of the 2014 European sanctions against Russia”. “No defense equipment export contract has been signed with Russia since 2014 and no deliveries have been made to Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine”the group said. “Any information suggesting the contrary is erroneous and therefore misleading”, he added. Thales also claimed to have decided to cease its activities in Russia.