Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Defence Attaché in post in the British Embassy in Ukraine was aware when the Government gave export licence approval in December 2014 for the export of 75 Saxon Armoured Personnel Carriers to Ukraine that they might be armed on their arrival in Ukraine; and what steps were taken by the British Embassy in Ukraine to inform the Government of this possibility.

Our British Embassy in Kyiv were consulted on the export licence application and made enquiries with the Ukraine Ministry of Defence and Ukroboronprom (state-owned defence enterprise) who stated that the Saxon Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) would be used by two battalions operating in the Anti-Terrorist Operation area and by airmobile units for reconnaissance and general patrolling. Our British Embassy in Kyiv was not aware that the Saxon vehicles might be armed on their arrival in Ukraine and we are not aware that the Ukrainians have armed any of the APC’s. We have however been informed by the Ukraine Deputy Minister of Defence that some may be converted for use as “Medevac vehicles.”