Motor Sich President Sabotaged Military Helicopters: Ukrainian Prosecutor

The President of Ukraine’s Motor Sich Corporation got the blades of military helicopters removed to ensure they won’t be used in the war against Russia, local authorities found during investigations.

Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, Boguslaev Vyacheslav Alexandrovich, Motor Sich’s head, first ordered to hide the documentation for helicopters so that Ukrainian war pilots could not use them.

Related news: Ukraine Detains Motor Sich’s President for Supplying Engine Parts for Russian Ka, Mi Helicopters

"Trading in such 'engines of death' is not all. The investigation has evidence that at the beginning of the full-scale war, the president of Motor Sich, after a corresponding appeal from the Ukrainian military, ordered that the company's employees hide documentation from helicopters so that the Ukrainian defense forces could not use the equipment," Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told Interfax-Ukraine during an interview.

When Ukraine’s armed forces applied for the helicopters, Boguslaev instructed his subordinates to remove helicopters’ blades.

The Prosecutor General said it happened at the onset of the full-scale war. "We all remember how enemy helicopters stormed Hostomel, how other Ukrainian cities were shelled, and when timely aerial support to the Armed Forces was so crucial."

On October 23, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained Vyacheslav Boguslaev along with Motor Sich’s foreign commercial operations department chief over suspicion of abetting and assisting Russia. A day later, the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv ruled to remand Bohuslaev in custody for a period of two months.

The SBU released audio recordings of Boguslaev's intercepted calls, which confirm his cooperation with Moscow.

Boguslaev has also been accused of supplying engines for Russian helicopters.

According to Schemes (an RFE/RL project), Boguslaev has had Russian citizenship since 2000.