Alleged recordings of the head of a major Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer accused of aiding the Russian military – saying he “completely understands” why a Russian missile was fired at his factory – have been released by Kyiv’s security services after his arrest at the weekend.
Vyacheslav Boguslaev, the president of Motor Sich, has been charged with treason after a raid at the weekend on his home in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. The manufacturing heavyweight is suspected of selling engines – before and after the invasion – for Russian attack helicopters that have been used extensively against Ukrainian troops.
The release of the alleged recordings have served as a reminder of the historic ties between veteran figures in the two countries’ arms industries and Ukraine’s internal battle to root out collaborators.
Answering questions from journalists at a Kyiv courthouse about whether or not he had contracts with companies that work with the Russia military, Boguslaev said he was not “in the loop” and that Motor Sich produced some of the “best helicopters”.
A lawyer for Boguslaev said his client had poor hearing and had not yet listened to the recordings released by Ukraine’s security services . The lawyer added that Boguslaev would explain his position during the trial. A judge ordered for Boguslaev to be held for two months without the possibility of bail.
In one of the alleged recordings, Boguslaev is heard telling an unnamed interlocutor after a Russian missile strike on Motor Sich’s factory in the Zaporizhzhia region in March that he sees the attack as necessary collateral damage for Russia’s victory.
“If Putin is finished off, then the nationalists will finish us off … an Iskander-M fell on the territory of the factory. We have absolutely no negative feelings about it. We completely understand,” Boguslaev was recorded saying about the Russian attack.
Motor Sich inherited the capabilities after the fall of the Soviet Union to manufacture engines and other parts for aircraft still used by the Russian military. Ukraine’s security services allege the series of tapped phone calls took place between Boguslaev and Russian state arms manufacturers.
On one call from just before the 24 February invasion of Ukraine, Boguslaev allegedly relayed that Russian defence officials were replacing helicopter engines “everywhere” as they had “grand plans”.
In a later recording from March, Boguslaev allegedly discussed how to send parts via third-party countries to evade sanctions. Croatia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were among the routes suggested. The US has previously warned that Russia was using third-party destinations to evade western sanctions on its defence sector.
Most of the tapped calls were said by the Ukrainian security services to be between Boguslaev and Pyotr Motrenko, the former head of Rostvertol, Russia’s state helicopter company, which is owned by Russia’s state arms manufacturer. The two men are veterans in their respective defence industries.
Boguslaev tells Motrenko several times that he’s calling from a “different phone” and refers several times to Motrenko as “my dear”, a form of address reserved for very close friends. Motrenko emphasises that the contract with Boguslaev has been agreed at the “highest levels” in Russia.
The incident is a reminder of the deep-running connections between the older echelons of the two militaries that formerly served one state – the Soviet Union.
Since Boguslaev’s arrest, Ukraine’s security service agents have posted pictures of a Russian coat of arms and awards for his cooperation with the Russian defence sector, which they say were found in his home. Ukrainian journalists from Radio Liberty later published a photograph of Boguslaev’s Russian passport.
Boguslaev is one of dozens of Ukrainians in powerful positions that have been charged with treason since 2014. A translator for the former Ukrainian prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, was arrested for being a Russian spy in 2017 and handed to Russia as part of a prisoner swap in two years later. In July, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, sacked his intelligence chief and childhood friend, Ihor Bakanov, for failing to rid the country’s security services of Russian collaborators.
Boguslaev has not commented on the allegations. Motor Sich has published a statement on its website calling the allegations against him “outrageous” and stating that the company had been working to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
Ukrainian firms were banned from dealing with the Russian military after 2014.
Ukrainian investigative journalists published contracts between Motor Sich and Russian state defence firms in 2016 – unearthed in Russian court files – and 2019, but Ukraine’s authorities and Motor Sich did not publicly react to their findings.
After the night-time raid in Zaporizhzhia, Boguslaev was taken by convoy to Kyiv, according to a statement issued by the Ukrainian security agency. The head of foreign trade for Motor Sich is also being tried to collusion with Russia alongside Boguslaev. He declined to comment on the allegations when asked by journalists.
The Guardian, USA
