7:15 p.m .: Ukraine accuses Thales of selling equipment used to kill civilians in Boutcha
An adviser to the Ukrainian presidency on Friday accused the French defense equipment group Thales of circumventing sanctions and selling equipment used in Ukraine to kill civilians to Russia in 2015, a claim Thales denies. “A family was trying to escape, they were killed by Russian assassins. Killed, as is now proven, with French weapons sold in circumvention of sanctions in 2015,” said Mikhaïlo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Twitter.
“Thales has always strictly complied with French and international regulations, including concerning the application of the 2014 European sanctions against Russia,” the group said. “No defense equipment export contract has been signed with Russia since 2014 and no delivery has been made to Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine”, adds Thales, saying that it has decided to cease its activities in Russia.