Russian officials have already been buying the Ka-52K, initially expecting to deploy them on its now canceled Mistrals. This deal, which U.S. officials had already criticized and pressured their counterparts in Paris to reconsider, finally broke down completely after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014. France subsequently refunded a significant amount of money it had already received for the project and then sold the two ships it had already under construction to Egypt.