Moscow Howled Over Kazakhstan's Transition To NATO Standards

• 17.12.2025, 16:03

The alarm was sounded by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee.

Kazakhstan's decision to set up production of NATO-standard artillery shells on its territory is an "unfriendly" step toward Russia, Alexei Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's defense committee declared.

"We try not to notice how a fraternal-looking republic has abruptly abandoned not only the Russian language, but also the Cyrillic alphabet. How they organize "yurts of non-zlamnost", supporting Ukraine. And now they are switching to NATO standards of ammunition, apparently intending to abandon Russian weapons in the future, replacing them with Western ones," Zhuravlev told Gazeta.ru.

The deputy recalled that in 1992 Kazakhstan was included in the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, and in 1994 the country signed a framework treaty with NATO called "Partnership for Peace." "The question immediately arises - why is NATO so interested in Kazakhstan? Maybe because it borders Russia, and this country can be used as another Russophobic outpost? <�...> We all know how such cooperation with NATO turned out for Kiev," Zhuravlev said.

Ahead of that, a high-ranking Kazakh military officer told the RTVI TV channel that the country's army currently depends on weapons depots left over from Soviet times, as well as Russian supplies. In order to provide itself with shells, Kazakhstan, as part of the ASPAN national project, has decided to construct four military plants that will produce artillery ammunition and mines not only of Russian designs, but also of NATO standards. The total cost of the project is about $1 billion, and the first plant will be operational as early as 2027.