Egypt Planned To Supply 40,000 Rockets to Russia, Documents Show

Egypt planned to supply tens of thousands of rockets to Russia to help it continue its war against neighboring Ukraine, leaked US intelligence documents have revealed, the Washington Post first reported late Monday. The documents are part of a tranche of classified US military and intelligence files that have been published online.

A portion of a top-secret document, dated Feb. 17, summarizes conversations between Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi and senior Egyptian military officials, which references the plans to produce 40,000 rockets for Russia as well as to supply Russia with artillery rounds and gunpowder. In the document, Sisi instructs the officials to keep the production and shipment of the rockets secret “to avoid problems with the West.”

The plan does not appear to have been executed, a US official told the Washington Post. The US, which is supporting Ukraine in the conflict, provides over $1 billion in security aid annually to Egypt.

Egypt and Russia have signed several significant agreements recently, including a deal for Russia to build a massive railway workshop in Egypt. In addition, after the war in Ukraine disrupted the distribution wheat from Ukraine, Cairo began relying heavily on purchases of Russian grain. The arrangement has helped Egypt avoid food shortages that could spark social unrest.

While the document does not state how the US government came into possession of the information, including the details of the conversations, much if the information found in the tranche of leaked documents is believed to have come from signals intelligence, such as interception of the communications.