As war started, Motor Sich president grounded helicopters to prevent their use by Army – top prosecutor
According to the investigation, Vyacheslav Boguslaev, President of Motor Sich Corporation, at the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, ordered to hide the documentation for military helicopters so that Ukrainian war pilots could not use them, and then ordered to remove the blades from the helicopters altogether.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform.
"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," Kostin said.
According to the top prosecutor, after the Ukrainian military applied for the helicopters, "the president of Motor Sich ordered that his subordinates dismantle the equipment by removing the blades from the helicopters!"
The Prosecutor General drew attention to the fact that all this happened at the onset of a 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."
As reported by Ukrinform, on October 23, the Security Service of Ukraine detained President of JSC Motor Sich Vyacheslav Boguslaev and the company’s foreign commercial operations department chief, with both being suspected of abetting and assisting the aggressor state.
The arrest took place within the framework of criminal proceedings on the illegal supply by Motor Sich of military goods for Russian attack aircraft.
The SBU released audio recordings of Boguslaev's intercepted calls, which confirm his cooperation with the aggressor power Russia.
According to Schemes (an RFE/RL project), Boguslaev has had Russian citizenship since 2000.
On October 24, the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv ruled to remand Bohuslaev in custody for a period of two months.