This delivery has been delayed by a few months. The contract’s schedule stipulated that this batch of Mi-35M helicopters would be handed over to the Belarusian Air Force by the end of 2023. In August 2022, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence signed a contract with the Russian Federation for a total of 12 Mi-35M helicopters, designated for the Belarusian Air Force. The first batch of four helicopters was delivered in August 2023, with the handover of the first batch also delayed by five months.
It is likely that the military and economic situation in Russia following the attack on Ukraine influenced this delay, resulting in allies and foreign partners being a low priority for deliveries, or not receiving ordered equipment at all for the past two years.
By mid-2022, it had become clear that due to the ongoing war, Russia was facing significant difficulties in exporting even small batches of modern weaponry. A notable example is the second battery of the S-400 air defence system for India, which has never been delivered.
