Zimbabwe has received a fleet of 18 Russian-made helicopters. The aircraft will be used for policing, wildlife protection, and disaster management.
The delivery ceremony was attended by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Russian Ambassador to Harare Nikolay Krasilnikov, and Sergey Chemezov, CEO of the Russian state defense corporation Rostec.
"Zimbabwe is under sanctions, we are constrained unlike our neighbours and the rest of the world to acquire the tools we need to mitigate the impact of cyclones and disasters in our region," Mnangagwa said.
While thanking the Russian authorities, the Zimbabwean leader condemned Western attempts to keep Africa away from Moscow, which is the target of a record number of Western sanctions over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Mnangagwa praised the "historic" military cooperation between Harare and Moscow, noting that this cooperation has now been extended to the economic and humanitarian spheres. He argued that for Zimbabwe to modernize its economy and livelihood, and move its people "from poverty to prosperity," it needs the help of friends like Russia.
"Zimbabwe is under sanctions, by the same people, for different reasons. Then you are told 'don’t speak to that guy who is under sanctions' when I am under sanctions. You are saying victims of sanctions should not speak to each other, what nonsense," Mnangagwa noted.
Zimbabwe's economy has been devastated by tough US and EU sanctions imposed on the country more than 20 years ago for alleged human rights abuses under the leadership of the late President Robert Mugabe.
According to a 2020 report of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Zimbabwe "lost well over $42 billion in revenue over the past 19 years because of the sanctions" with a negative influence on most sectors of its economy and investment climate.