Latvia completes Mi-17 preparation for Ukraine

Latvia will soon complete the transfer of its entire fleet of Soviet-era helicopters to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš, has announced that the final helicopters are currently undergoing repainting to ensure their functionality and improve their appearance.

He recalled that at the end of 2021, the country’s authorities decided to transfer Stinger MANPADS to Ukraine.

Stinger man-portable air-defense systems were delivered to the Ukrainians a day before the start of a full-scale invasion of Russia.

“So, all our Stinger missiles are now in Ukraine. We have a fleet of helicopters, all these helicopters – the last ones are now being repainted to be usable and look good – we are sending to Ukraine,” Kariņš said.

It regards Soviet-era Mi-2 and Mi-17 helicopters, which were in service with the Air Force of Latvia.

It is worth noting that Latvia is also receiving UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, but their transfer has not yet been discussed.

As previously reported, in August 2022, the Ukrainian Air Force received two Mi-17 and two more Mi-2 helicopters from Latvia.

In January 2023, Latvia also promised to hand over its last two Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine.

Presumably, these helicopters are currently being prepared for transfer to Ukraine as part of defense assistance.

As for the Black Hawk, in 2018 the U.S. approved the potential supply of 4 UH-60M Black Hawk multirole helicopters to Latvia.

Then the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia approved the purchase of 4 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, the cost of which was €175 million, as part of an intergovernmental agreement with the United States.

Two have already been delivered, and the delivery of two more helicopters should be completed by the end of 2023.