MASSIVE SALE OF UKRAINIAN TANKS TO UGANDA REPORTED.

Sixty-two battle tanks from Ukraine have arrived in Uganda, and a further consignment of twenty-eight tanks is due to follow by the same route via Tanzania. The ninety tanks were delivered at the port of Dar-es-Salaam, reportedly by a Bulgarian ship, to be taken by railroad under Tanzanian escort to the Ugandan army, which currently conducts combat operations on two fronts. To the south, it supports a rebellion in Congo against that country’s president, Laurent Kabila. To the north, it fights the pro-Sudanese Lord’s Resistance Army in Ugandan territory while at the same time supporting the anti-Sudanese People’s Liberation Army in Sudan’s territory.

Initial reports had identified the provenance of the tanks as Russian, and a maintenance team was identified as Russian as recently as December 12. Ugandan authorities ultimately stated, however, that the tanks arrived from Ukraine. The Ugandans complain that the tanks are old models and that only eight are operational and battleworthy in the first batch of sixty-two.

In Ukraine, the State Service for Export Control and the management of the Kharkiv-based Malyshev tank plant have stated that no one has authorized the delivery of tanks to Uganda. Ukrainian authorities suspect that a third party may be involved in the deal, undercutting Ukraine’s reputation as an arms exporter and depriving the budget of revenue (New Vision (Kampala, Uganda), December 12; AP, December 11; Kievskie vedomosti, December 3).–VS

GEORGIA PLANS UNPRECEDENTED STEP AGAINST CORRUPTION.