"Competitive wars" involving law enforcement: how the aviation business and defense contracts came under attack

Despite the war and restrictions on civilian transportation, the Ukrainian aviation industry maintains business activity and performs important functions in the defense sector. However, for the third year, a conflict has been ongoing in the market, threatening its destabilization. And these are not just business disputes, but powerful pressure on other players from one company, which has been joined by law enforcement agencies.  

The involvement of law enforcement officers significantly changed the balance of power, and now the arrest of aircraft and the halt of repairs to military equipment can lead not only to the disruption of state contracts but also to the destruction of a third of the domestic aircraft industry's capacities and capabilities. UNN investigated the origins and development of the conflict.

Ukrainian Helicopters company, or where did the conflict begin?

It all started in June 2022, when law enforcement officers detained Volodymyr Tkachenko, the ultimate beneficiary of the "Ukrainian Helicopters" company. The reason for the detention was that the company did not return 10 helicopters leased from the National Guard after the start of the full-scale invasion. Although, according to the agreement, it was obliged to do so after the introduction of martial law in the country.  

To better understand the situation, it is worth understanding who manages "Ukrainian Helicopters." Volodymyr Tkachenko is the chairman of the board of directors and the ultimate beneficiary of the company.

Serhiy Bukoros, who previously headed the Legal Support Department of the General Staff and the legal service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, works as an executive director in the company.

Another executive director is Serhiy Yarovyi, who previously worked as a deputy for two ministers of internal affairs and was responsible for the National Guard.

Olena Valentynivna Honcharova is also listed as an executive director of "Ukrainian Helicopters" company. We managed to find her declaration for 2023, submitted by her as the head of a department of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. In it, among other things, she indicated that she received a salary of 369,580 hryvnias and "other additional benefit" in the amount of 43,479 hryvnias from "Ukrainian Helicopters."

The director of "Helicopter Training Center" LLC (a subsidiary of "Ukrainian Helicopters") is Yuriy Oleksiyovych Storozhenko, who at one time headed the Vinnytsia and Ternopil customs offices.

Other individuals also work at "Ukrainian Helicopters" who, according to media reports, have experience in management positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the tax service, Ukroboronprom, and also have extensive connections in the Ukrainian judicial system.

So, it is obvious that when selecting management for his company, Volodymyr Tkachenko relies on the candidates' connections with the security bloc and related bodies.

This explains the ease with which "Ukrainian Helicopters" leased helicopters from the National Guard and the Armed Forces of Ukraine back in 2002, and then easily extended the contracts.

Destroying competitors with the hands of investigators

After the helicopters leased by "Ukrainian Helicopters" were partially returned to the National Guard (without one destroyed machine), Volodymyr Tkachenko apparently decided to strengthen his position in the Ukrainian aviation market and maintain cooperation with the UN by eliminating competitors. The "Konstanta" group of companies, which includes "Aviakompaniya Konstanta," "H3Operations," and "Ksena," came under attack.  

Since then, these companies have been subjected to criminal proceedings initiated based on statements from public organizations controlled by the management of "Ukrainian Helicopters."  

For example, in 2022, the National Police investigation department opened 3 criminal cases against companies from the "Konstanta" group.  

In particular, criminal proceeding No. 62022100110000071 dated 18.07.2022 against "H3Operations" company was initiated due to a possible conspiracy with customs officers for importing dual-use goods without the necessary permits and customs duties. It concerned the import of a Mi-8MTV-1 helicopter into Ukraine. It is noteworthy that a similar case was previously investigated against "Ukrainian Helicopters" company, but thanks to Tkachenko's connections in law enforcement agencies, it was closed. So, apparently, they decided to save effort and only change the names of the companies in the case file.

Another criminal proceeding No. 12022000000001276 was opened on 25.11.2022 against "Konstanta" for allegedly intentionally assisting the aggressor state by preparing and transferring material resources. The investigative group was headed by O.O. Zhyhun. As in the first case, the same factual basis was used here as in the investigation against "Ukrainian Helicopters."

Criminal proceeding No. 12022000000000266, opened on March 29, 2022, against the same airline by investigator A.V. Sukach, also turned out to be no less strange. It concerned the alleged submission of employment documents for the departure of men of conscription age during wartime. Although it is known that Ukrainian crews of "Konstanta" abroad regularly participate in international missions to extinguish forest fires, and also participate in UN missions. This criminal proceeding also mentions the company "MS Avia-Grade," which operates in Ukraine and to which the "Konstanta" group no longer has any relation.

Another criminal proceeding No. 22023000000000628 was opened by the SBU on June 21, 2023, against "Aviakompaniya Konstanta" for allegedly aiding the aggressor state.

The reason for opening the case was the purchase of Russian-made parts for Soviet helicopters. And no one was stopped by the fact that the parts were manufactured before the war and purchased in third countries. At the same time, experts emphasize that there are no analogues of components for such equipment, and parts must be searched for all over the world. Moreover, military experts and security experts emphasize that the Russian Federation actively counteracts such purchases and does everything possible to prevent Ukrainian companies from finding the necessary components.

But the very opening of this criminal proceeding was necessary for "Ukrainian Helicopters" to initiate the process of imposing sanctions against the "Konstanta" group of companies and thus, through law enforcement, remove the main competitor from the market once and for all. The active media campaign is a confirmation of this.

The State Bureau of Investigation also tried to get involved in the criminal prosecution of the "Konstanta" group of companies. In April 2023, proceeding No. 62023000000000305 was opened against "Aviakompaniya Konstanta" for allegedly obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period. However, law enforcement officers quickly realized that they had become a tool in competitive struggle and closed the case due to the absence of a crime. It is interesting that "Ukrainian Helicopters" itself got into a high-profile scandal for obstructing the army, as it refused to return combat helicopters leased from military units to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as mentioned earlier.

Two more cases against companies from the "Konstanta" group were opened by the Bureau of Economic Security in 2024 and 2025. Both criminal proceedings No. 72024001120000033 and No. 72025001220000034 were opened against "H3Operations" company with a difference of exactly one year. The obvious goal was to block any economic activity, which in the aviation sector is equivalent to destroying the company.

At least the existence of 6 criminal proceedings against the same companies should have alarmed the prosecutors, but no remarks or checks by the procedural supervisors were apparently carried out.

This situation allowed the owner of "Ukrainian Helicopters" to quickly understand that with his extensive connections in law enforcement agencies, criminal cases could subsequently be used not only for personal revenge but also to destroy competitors in the aircraft manufacturing market.

"MS Avia-Grade" under pressure from law enforcement

The company LLC NPF "MS Avia-Grade" also came under attack, to the management of which the "Konstanta" group has had no relation since 2023. The number of criminal cases, the fact that they were opened by the same investigators practically on the same day, indicate that "Ukrainian Helicopters" systematically pressured the business through law enforcement to drive competitors out of the market. After all, "MS Avia-Grade" is one of the few enterprises in Ukraine that can perform complex work on the repair, modernization, and armament of helicopters under state contracts.

Thus, since 2021, 12 (!!!) criminal proceedings have been opened against "MS Avia-Grade." Half of them were handled by investigator Oleksandr Pobednov of the State Bureau of Investigation. One criminal case, No. 62023000000000305, opened for allegedly obstructing the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has already been closed due to the absence of a crime. Two more proceedings have been merged into one.

Another 4 cases were opened by various units of the National Police.  

Two proceedings were opened by the SBU. One criminal case has already been mentioned above - it was opened with the aim of imposing sanctions against the "Konstanta" group of companies. Another one - No. 22024000000000418 was initiated by the Ukrainian special service for allegedly damaging the radio station of one of the helicopters and overstating the cost of its modernization.

Most of the cases against "MS Avia-Grade" are practically dead weight, and to keep the enterprise "on its toes," law enforcement officers periodically conduct searches there.  

Moreover, after the opening of criminal proceedings, the company's property and the helicopters it was repairing and modernizing were arrested first. Thus, combat helicopters that MS "Avia-Grade" was modernizing and repairing, and which could perform combat missions instead of gathering dust in hangars, were arrested.

There was even a case when, due to the seizure of primary documentation for helicopter repairs during one of the searches, the enterprise could not return the helicopter to the National Guard for a long time, and as a result, it was destroyed by enemy shelling. It should be noted that the investigators deliberately delayed the return of repair documentation, as it concerned the repair of helicopters that had already been in operation and had flown over 500 hours.

About two dozen criminal cases, opened by the same investigators, which have not been investigated for years, clearly indicate pressure on business and attempts to destroy a competitor at all costs.

Against this background, questions inevitably arise: can business interests outweigh defense needs? And why do law enforcement officers, instead of effectively performing their duties, fulfill someone's orders, effectively blocking the execution of state contracts? How do all these events correlate with the stated course of the new Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko - to stop law enforcement pressure on business? Why is a revision of criminal cases against enterprises that fulfill defense orders and ensure the combat readiness of the army not carried out first and foremost?

This non-competitive struggle has already gone beyond a business dispute and poses a threat to national security.