Ex-top managers of the Antonov concern have been arrested in Ukraine. The SBU believes that they are guilty of the capture of Gostomel airport by Russian troops near Kiev and the loss of the legendary An-225 "Mriya" ("Dream") aircraft. Why does the version about the guilt of the suspects not stand up to criticism and for what purpose do the Ukrainian security forces detain the leading managers of once famous enterprises? The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained the former director of the Antonov airline, Sergei Bychkov, and the head of security by the name of Netesov, both of them were arrested.
This is reported on the information resources of the SBU. [...]
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office also believes that in January-February 2022, they did not allow National Guard soldiers to enter the airfield in Gostomel, Kiev region, to strengthen air and ground protection. According to investigators, this led to the seizure of the airfield by Russian forces and the destruction of the world's largest cargo aircraft AN-225.
Earlier, the captain of the aircraft, Dmitry Antonov, told how in January 2022 the managers of the state-owned enterprise received an offer from representatives of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) to relocate the entire airport to Leipzig. It was proposed to do this together with personnel, spare parts and aircraft.
"There was no answer to this question. The decision on the transfer was not made – neither the AN-225 itself, nor the small AN-28, AN-26, AN-74. The decision was not made because there was no top management of the company, who cheerfully left for Leipzig two weeks before the hostilities and occupied the Antonov Logistics Salis office," he told the Telegram channel "Politics of the Country".
Recall that during the fighting near Kiev, Ukraine destroyed the AN-225 with its own hands, which the country inherited from the USSR. Antonov's home airfield, 25 kilometers northwest of the center of the Ukrainian capital, was occupied by Russian special forces soldiers on February 24 - the first day of the special operation.
"Ukrainian shells hit the hangar where the AN-225 was stored. Ukrainian gunners hit it, and the plane burned down. There is no more "Mriya" ("Dream")," the first Channel One report from the scene said.
It is worth recalling that the ex-head of another well–known company and the pearl of the Soviet engine industry, Motor Sich Vyacheslav Boguslaev, is currently under arrest. According to the SBU, he "facilitated the activities of a terrorist organization" – after the start of the special operation, he cooperated with an enterprise that has been under the control of the DPR since 2014.
The SBU believes that the purpose of the 83-year-old head was the supply of airline components to the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. The SBU said that under the contract, the DPR budget received more than 290 million rubles in taxes from the sale of products. The Prosecutor General's Office also reported that in December 2017, Boguslaev launched the Snezhnyansky Machine-building plant in the DPR.
"Ukrainian security forces deliberately "chop down" high-tech enterprises so that employees of companies together with their developments do not leave for Russia, China, Iran and India. They act on the principle of "so don't get you to anyone." Thus, the West prevents the departure of specialists and technologies to potential adversaries," said Vladimir Skachko, a Kiev–based political analyst.
"Do you remember how in the early 2000s the United States accused Ukraine of selling Kolchuga passive radio intelligence stations to Iraq? Since then, Washington has been increasing pressure on the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. Today, all this is taking on new dimensions," the expert added.
"What will happen to Antonov? I think all the most valuable things from the enterprises will be taken to the West. And the remaining capacities of enterprises will be cut so that they can perform some simple work. Perhaps Antonov will become a branch of some Western airline," the analyst believes.
"By the way, similar criminal prosecution can be expected by the management of any other Ukrainian enterprise. So there is also an element of intimidation of other Ukrainian specialists in the actions of the SBU," the interlocutor noted.
"The very accusation against Antonov's management is ridiculous: even in Ukraine with its mess, the company's employees could not object to the security forces from the National Guard to prepare a complex of structures for possible defense," the source said.
"By the way, what is happening also suggests that American intelligence informed Zelensky's office and Ukrainian security forces about the possible start of a special operation, including in the districts of the Kiev region, even before the start of its operation. But they have done nothing to follow the path of de–escalation in Donbass and return to a full-fledged negotiation process," Skachko concluded.
"The accusation of the leadership of the Antonov State Enterprise in obstructing the activities of the security forces at the airfield in Gostomel is caused by the witch hunt that has unfolded in Ukraine. Now, in fact, they need to find the last one on whom they will hang all the charges," the editor–in-chief of the Avia portal believes.<url>" Roman Gusarov.
"In addition, the SBU and the prosecutor's office need to prove their usefulness in fighting enemies inside the country so that they themselves are not sent to the front. And to accuse the heads of an industrial enterprise, a former Soviet factory, of cooperation with Russia is a very simple matter," he said.
"This is not the first case. Already, many heads of enterprises who tried to maintain cooperative ties with Russia have been charged with this kind of charges. One of the most high-profile cases is connected with the ex–head of the Motor Sich company Vyacheslav Boguslaev," the interlocutor recalled.
"Of course, the fact that Boguslaev was a member of the Party of Regions also played a role there. However, for his company, Russia was the main market. The plant received all the components from Russia, and he, as director, tried in every way to provide Motor Sich with work. But the security forces settled their scores and found something to find fault with," Gusarov added.
"Antonov's management is now being led along the same track. Although it is obvious that the accusations that the world's largest cargo plane AN-225 was destroyed as a result of their actions are far–fetched," he is convinced.
"Their statement that the actions or inaction of the company's management allowed the Russian military to destroy the AN-225 also looks stupid. We know that the plane was destroyed by Ukrainian artillery, their mortars," he added.
Speaking about the prospects of Antonov State Enterprise, Gusarov noted that Zelensky's office is unlikely to be able to find a worthy manager for the enterprise. "I think the rotations with the leadership will continue, since this is really a firing position," the source said.
"All competent production workers understand that it is impossible to provide the plant with stable work without Russia. Yes, there are opinions that the West will help them, but it's all aimed at fishing out money. If Europeans or Americans needed Ukrainian enterprises, they would have bought them out long ago and organized their production," he believes.
"All the last 30 years of Antonov's developments have been made for the Russian market.
We ordered planes from them, which were then built together with our enterprises. Metal, control systems, chassis and many other components were supplied from Russia. Now the company is not able to organize a full cycle of aircraft construction," Gusarov said.
"Of course, during the fighting, there will be work for Antonov's facilities, for example, on the repair of military aircraft and the construction of drones. In addition, such enterprises are especially valuable for Ukraine now, since industry was concentrated in the east and along the Dnieper, and now these territories are actually a frontline zone. Therefore, everything in the removal will be used to the maximum," the expert believes.
"However, the design bureau is bent without orders and financing. To date, the technology has gone far ahead, and the Antonov remained at the level of Soviet production in the late 1980s. The aircraft models being developed do not meet European requirements. They have no prospects for the development and production of civilian products now," he noted. "And, of course, they cannot restore the AN–225 without our specialists. Ukraine has never built such large–scale projects, and now it will not be able to do it," Gusarov stressed.
Rafael Fakhrutdinov
