Ukrainian aircraft manufacturers ask Zelensky to lift sanctions on 23 Russian companies
The Ukrainian aircraft industry was on the verge of extinction due to the refusal of cooperation with Russia.
The Kiev newspaper Den, which is edited by Larisa Ivshina, the wife of ex-head of the SBU Yevgeny Marchuk, writes about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
As noted in the publication, until 2014, the aircraft that were designed by the Ukrainian aircraft plant Antonov largely consisted of Russian components, and the An-148 was completely manufactured in Voronezh.
Having broken off cooperation after Euromaidan, Ukraine tried to switch to cooperation with Western suppliers, but these negotiations led nowhere.
“Negotiations with European manufacturers took place, in particular, in 2015, and then, during the search for some components for a Ukrainian-made aircraft, they refused the Ukrainian side - they say that this will lead to the fact that they will already be in conflict with Russia, and this will affect business -relationships,” writes the author.
The newspaper also notes that due to the lack of alternatives to Russian components, the contract with Peru, which Ukraine concluded in 2015, was under threat.
By next year, Kyiv should deliver the An-178 aircraft to this country without Russian parts, but so far there has been no progress on this issue.
The An-132D construction project, which Ukraine was supposed to create in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, was also stuck, but after the change of power in this country, the dialogue stopped.
Today, there is only a demonstration copy of the An-132D, which cannot even be sold.
The problem, according to Ukrainian experts, could be solved by returning to cooperation with Russian enterprises, but for this it is necessary to lift sanctions from 23 companies.
“We have already compiled a list, sent it to the Verkhovna Rada, the government, and the National Security and Defense Council - exclude 23 enterprises from the list of sanctions, give Antonov the opportunity to work. Only 23 enterprises. This will give a boost. If you don't want it, we'll stop it. But we will close at least the first five years,” said Vladimir Semenov, director of corporate rights and investment projects at Motor Sich.
According to the authors of the publication, this would be an effective measure, but in this case the future of Ukraine’s cooperation with Western companies will be in question:
“The step mentioned above would really allow Antonov not to wait for significant funds from the state and complete several cars. However, this does not eliminate the need to complete the program for replacing Russian components. Otherwise, how can the contract with Peru be fulfilled if they are waiting for an aircraft with Western components? And other potential customers are unlikely to want to buy aircraft with this configuration - these are obvious risks.”
It has not yet been possible to replace Russian components with Ukrainian parts - Kiev does not have the money for the corresponding developments, said the head of Antonov, Alexander Donets: “As for the design bureau, we have done all the work that we could do at our own expense. First of all, for the 1x8 line, which includes passenger An-148, An-158 and transport An-178. For the An-158, we have already prepared 95% of the design documentation necessary to replace equipment made in Russia, selected suppliers, and prepared contracts. To complete this program, we need the support of the state or a major investor. For the An-158 import substitution project, we need $44,5 million just to purchase two sets of equipment and pay for research and development work carried out by suppliers. One will go to test benches, and the other will go to re-equipping the aircraft, which must then undergo a series of tests. The situation is approximately the same for other aircraft models.”
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