Fact check. Could the Kamov helicopters delivered to Ukraine have been used to put out fires?

The fires that hit the north and center of the country in mid-September, especially in the districts of Porto and Aveiro, generated several doubts on the response capacity of the authorities to combat fires.

At the same time that the fires were occurring, on social networks, some users also denounced the lack of resources. In particular the absence of six helicopters Damaged Kamovpurchased from Russia in 2006 by the former Minister of Interior Administration, António Costa, which were transferred, in October 2022, to the Ukrainian authorities after the Russian invasion eight months earlier.

“The Kamov helicopters sent by Portugal to Ukraine could have been very useful in putting out the fires that torment the country,” says one user. Another asks if “it wouldn’t be too bothersome” to ask for the return of the firefighting helicopters the country offered to Ukraine. One even asks, “I asked a question yesterday and no one seems to know how to answer it. Why were the Kamovs (helicopters) that we sent to the war in Ukraine not used to fight fires in our country?

In addition to the issue that appeared on social networks in mid-September, it was also raised during the parliamentary hearing in the Assembly of the Republic, on September 24, on the political and technical management of the civil protection means used to combat crimes. fires on the island. of Madeira, which took place in mid-August. The union structures and representatives of the firefighters proposed, during the hearing, and among other measures, to recover the Kamov helicopters sent to Ukraine.

This suggestion to demand them caused the Madeira Regional Civil Protection Service to issue a statement accusing the union structures of “profound ignorance” on the issue. “In accordance with the new European directives and the war between Ukraine and Russia, “This type of equipment is prohibited from operating in Europe.”reads the statement dated September 26, 2024, which illustrates: “In Alicante, Spain, there are currently ten Kamovs helicopters detained without authorization to operate in the European space.”

In the same sense, before being transferred to Ukraine, the former Minister of Defense, Helena Carreiras, explained that “at the request of Ukraine and in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Administration”, Portugal would manufacture “the fleet of Kamov helicopters that, due In the current scenario, the sanctions imposed on Russia, it is no longer possible to operate, in fact, they do not have their airworthiness certificates and we won’t even be able to repair them.”

Conclusion

It is not true that the Kamov helicopters transferred to Ukraine in October 2022 can be used to fight fires. The Kamovs were not only broken, but could not be repaired due to the sanctions applied to the manufacturing country (Russia) after the invasion of Ukrainian territory. Furthermore, as the Madeira Regional Civil Protection Section explains, this type of equipment is “prohibited from operating in Europe.”

Thus, according to the Observer classification system, this content is:

MISTAKEN

In Facebook’s rating system, this content is:

FAKE: Claims about the main content are factually inaccurate. Generally, this option corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.