Russia and Ukraine suspended defence ties after Crimea fallout in 2014. The move created troubles for their defence partners, as many countries, including India, faced difficulties in importing Russian defence products.
The fallout has prompted India to acquire Ukrainian engines, worth USD 75 million, for frigates imported from Russia. A senior Defence Ministry official recently said in New Delhi that India had no other option, but to purchase engines from Ukraine in order to use the Russian vessels.
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, also said that suspended defence ties between Moscow and Kiev rendered the under-construction Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates of limited operational use to Russian Navy. Currently, Moscow tries to re-engine frigates with Russian alternative. But, it is expected to be ready by the end of 2020. For India, it’s not possible to wait three more years for the Russian alternative.

Grigorovich-class frigate

According to the official, the Defence Acquisition Council of India recently sanctioned USD 75 million for purchasing M7N.1E gas turbine engines from Ukraine. The engines will power two Grigorovich-class frigates which will soon arrive in India from Russia. On the basis of a USD 4 billion deal signed in 2016, New Delhi would purchase two frigates – Admiral Butakov and Admiral Istomin – from Moscow. Russia also agreed to construct two other Grigorovich-class frigates at the facility of Goa Shipyard Limited in the South Asian country.

Admiral Butakov and Admiral Istomin, which were under construction at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, were originally designed to be fitted with Ukraine-built gas turbine engines. However, the Crimean fallout forced Russia to stop importing the engines from Ukraine. Later, Russia discussed the issue with India and allowed the latter to sign a separate agreement with Ukraine for directly importing the M7N.1E gas turbine for the Russian frigates.

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Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das