Russian Sources Claim Armenia Hands Over S-300 and Other Air Defense Systems to Ukraine
Is it possible that Armenia has transferred almost all of its air defense assets to Ukraine, including S-300, Buk, Tor and Osa air defense systems along with missiles
Rumors have appeared in russia that Armenia has transferred a large number of air defense systems to Ukraine, including S-300, Buk, Tor, and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as missiles for them.
The author of this information is russian propagandist Ilya Tumanov under the alias Fighterbomber. It was quickly picked up by russian media. This is not the first time this topic has been raised in russian media.
As Defense Express we note that, according to unofficial information, the Armed Forces of Armenia have up to three S-300PT-1 divisions, several Buk SAM systems, up to four Tor SAM systems, and a very significant number of Osa systems, approximately 70-90 units as of early 2020.
But we should take into account Armenia’s losses during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war. In particular, the losses of the Osa SAM systems were more than 20 units. There were also losses among the S-300 and other systems.
At the same time, Armenia no longer wants to rely on russian air defense. This was demonstrated by the signing of contracts with France. In November 2023, Yerevan contracted three Ground Master 200 radars from France, which are also used by Ukraine. In addition, Mistral man-portable air defense systems were also contracted.
In December 2023, Armenia ordered 15 Akash medium-range air defense systems from India worth $720 million, which can intercept targets at a range of up to 30 km. The modernization and arming of russian Su-30SMs with Indian solutions was also discussed.
In early 2024, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu officially announced his readiness to sell Armenia the full range of air defense systems, including medium and long-range systems. In other words, Paris explicitly hinted at SAMP/T systems. In June 2024, there was unofficial information about Yerevan’s interest in the Israeli Barak-8 SAM systems.
In other words, Armenia’s rejection of russian weapons is in progress, and it concerns not only air defense systems. For instance, the country ordered Indian-made MArG 155 artillery in November 2023 and French-made CAESAR howitzers in June this year.
It is possible to assume that Armenia is rearming. However, it should be noted that there is no evidence of this, and there are huge doubts about the “transfer of almost all air defense systems.” It is unlikely that Yerevan is ready to be left without SAM systems at all.
Such decisions show that Armenia has learned a very painful lesson. russia, despite promises, left it alone in the confrontation with Azerbaijan, and did not launch the mechanisms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization despite Yerevan’s numerous appeals. At the same time, russia does not mention this at all and actively accuses Armenia of treason.
