Ukraine’s secret service (SBU) has detained the head of Motor Sich, the major aircraft engine manufacturer, over allegations of Russian cooperation, the Kyiv Independent reported on October 23.

According to the SBU, Viacheslav Bohuslaiev, who is said to hold a Russian passport, collaborated with Russia and is accused of illegally supplying military goods for Russian attack aircraft. Authorities claim that criminals established transnational channels for the illegal supply of wholesale batches of Ukrainian aircraft engines to Russia via countries in Europe, West Asia and East Asia to circumvent trade restrictions. 

“According to the investigation materials, the management of the plant located in Zaporozhzhia was involved in the embezzlement. The officials acted in collusion with representatives of the Russian corporation Rostec, which is close to the Kremlin, and was one of the main producers of weapons for the Soviet Union,” the SBU stated.

The secret service then published phone calls of Bohuslaiev, allegedly revealing that the Motor Sich president offered Ukrainian-made engines to Russian helicopter manufacturing companies who deployed the helicopter models in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The SBU claims that Ukrainian soldiers have shot down these models on the battlefield.

Kyiv has been cracking down on corruption and espionage, firing Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and former head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov amidst Russian spy allegations over the summer. The Ukrainian parliament then appointed the new Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, a member of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's Servant of the People Party.

Moreover, Kyiv hired a new anti-corruption prosecutor, Oleksandr Klymenko, after pressure from Western allies to fill the position that had been vacant since August 2020.

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