Ukraine continues to supply aircraft and helicopter parts to Russia

Ukraine’s Kharkiv Machine-Building Plant FED previously supplied aircraft parts to a Russian company, “Avia FED Service,” which later continued importing Ukrainian components for Russian military aircraft during the war. This is reported by The Insider.

“Avia FED Service” supplied parts to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Rostec, and the presidential air fleet for around 650 million rubles. Nearly 370 million rubles’ worth of components came from Ukraine. These components included parts for repairing An-124 aircraft, Ka-32 helicopter location stations, engines of An-24 and An-12 and products from various Ukrainian enterprises. Before the conflict, KhMZ was the primary supplier to “Avia FED Service,” accounting for a significant portion of their sales to Russia.

Following the conflict’s start, the plant officially stopped direct shipments to Russia. Despite Ukrainian sanctions, supplies continued indirectly through a UAE-registered company, Linker, and later through “Bakaytorg1” from Kyrgyzstan. Linker claimed no direct supply to Russia. The deliveries raised questions about the companies’ adherence to sanctions and the routes used to facilitate these shipments. The complex supply chain involved entities linked to the Russian military aviation sector, despite the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The investigation’s findings unveiled the complexities of arms supply chains amid geopolitical tensions, highlighting the challenge of enforcing sanctions and preventing military-related transactions between countries in conflict.