Despite the fact that Kazakhstan is a long-standing partner of Ukraine in military-technical cooperation, the situation is now changing, and it is Russia, together with Israel and the Republic of South Africa, that can become Kiev's main competitor in the Kazakh arms market.
Sergei Zgurets, head of military programs at the Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament, said that Ukraine has recently supplied to Kazakhstan aviation equipment, S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, armored personnel carriers, which are relatively competitive in terms of the cost of Ukrainian products.
"It is armored vehicles, radar - there is direct competition with Russia. First of all, it is the modernization and repair of air defense equipment, joint projects in the field of armored vehicles, modernization of aircraft and aircraft engines, and this segment is very interesting for the Ukrainian defense industry."
As for the S-300 complexes, here Russia can get into a controversial situation, because it does not have such factories that would put these complexes in order. But there are such factories in Ukraine. Therefore, according to military expert Sergei Zgurts, Russia will have to turn to Ukraine to fulfill its own contract.
Analysts also say that a few years ago Kiev faced certain tensions over military cooperation with Kazakhstan, because the country's military leadership, which subsequently resigned, was accused of corruption schemes that related to military-technical cooperation with Israel.
Experts remind that Kiev has been repeatedly accused of violating the rules for the export of weapons, in particular, of the illegal supply of weapons abroad, although this has almost never been proven at the level of international organizations and courts.
Another aspect in the military relations of Ukraine with Kazakhstan is that Astana is a member of the Collective Security Organization (CSTO), in which Russia plays a leading role. According to experts, strengthening cooperation with Kazakhstan will be one of the elements of bringing Ukraine closer to this organization, which is essentially an alternative to NATO in the post-Soviet space.
And the representatives of the authorities are in favor of strengthening this vector of foreign policy. Former Minister of Defense, a member of the Party of Regions faction, Oleksandr Kuzmuk, stated earlier that Ukraine's cooperation with the CSTO should proceed on the same principles as with NATO, speaking, in particular, about the need to create a unified air defense system.
And opposition representatives are convinced that rapprochement with the CIS Collective Security Organization could mean a step away from NATO and further rapprochement with Russia.
