Former Deputy Head of the State Aviation Service Zelinsky blocked the use of military transport aircraft by the army

Ihor Zelinskyi, whom Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksiy Kuleba is lobbying as a candidate for the head of the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, systematically made decisions that caused obvious damage to Ukraine's defense capabilities. According to UNN sources, it was Zelinskyi who blocked the possibility of operating the Il-76MD military transport aircraft of the Ministry of Defense, which could significantly strengthen the logistical capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the war.

How Zelinskyi blocked the use of Il-76MD aircraft for the needs of the army

As early as 1994, the Department of Air Transport of Ukraine adopted a decision that allowed the operation of a number of modifications of heavy military transport aircraft Il-76, including modified Il-76MD, in civil aviation. 

In practice, this meant that aircraft on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Defense could be used for civilian and defense tasks without additional bureaucratic procedures such as re-registration or changing their status on paper.

As representatives of the aviation market told UNN, after the start of Russia's full-scale aggression in 2023, Ukrainian airlines and a certified development organization appealed to the State Aviation Service with the initiative to use Il-76MD according to civil aviation rules in the interests of Ukraine, without excluding them from the balance sheet of the Ministry of Defense. 

That is, such a decision would allow the use of these military transport aircraft, for example, for the delivery of military cargo, humanitarian or evacuation missions, as well as the performance of other logistical tasks for the army.

According to UNN, this idea was also supported by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, understanding that every aircraft in the conditions of a full-scale war is critically important for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In June 2023, Ihor Zelinskyi, who at that time was acting head of the State Aviation Service, officially confirmed that there were no obstacles to such operation of the Il-76MD.

However, six months later, he abruptly changed his mind.

In particular, according to UNN, in December 2023, Zelinskyi officially stated that Il-76MD aircraft do not have a civil type certificate or other similar document and cannot be registered in the State Register of Aircraft of Ukraine. 

This completely contradicted his previous position and the requirements of the law. 

In practice, this meant a complete blocking of the use of Il-76MD military transport aircraft in the interests of Ukraine, and Zelinskyi was obviously well aware of this.

Such a position of the regulator led to the fact that aviation equipment critically needed during the war still cannot be operated by the military. Moreover, while these aircraft are idle, because the sky over Ukraine remains closed for civil aviation, the state spends money on their maintenance.

Currently, this situation looks like intentional harm to the interests of the state, an attempt to undermine Ukraine's defense capabilities, and assistance to the aggressor country.

Zelinskyi could have harmed Ukraine's interests for years

The story with the Il-76MD military transport aircraft is not the only case when the actions of the former leadership of the State Aviation Service could harm national security interests. Since 2020, Zelinskyi has worked as deputy head of the State Aviation Service under Oleksandr Bilchuk. But in February 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Kuleba dismissed Zelinskyi.

Later, the Government dismissed Bilchuk from his post after he transferred the support of repair documentation for Mi-8MT(MTV) helicopters to AAL Group Ltd, which has direct ties to the Russian military-industrial complex, in early August 2025. This decision jeopardized the operation of this type of helicopter by all components of the security and defense sector of Ukraine.

It later turned out that AAL Group Ltd, registered in the offshore jurisdiction of the UAE, has direct ties to the Russian military-industrial complex. And as reported by Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, the ultimate beneficiaries of AAL Group Ltd are the company "Russian Helicopters" from the state concern "Rostec".

Bilchuk's decision was made despite the fact that the US Transportation Command USTRANSCOM had already recognized AAL Group Ltd as unsuitable for cooperation in 2024.

As UNN wrote, during his work at the State Aviation Service, Zelinskyi, together with Bilchuk, made a number of other decisions that could cause significant damage to Ukraine's interests. In particular, the state lost more than 20 Il-76 military transport aircraft. They, by the decisions of Bilchuk and Zelinskyi, were excluded from the state register and came under the control of Russia.

In addition, contrary to sanction legislation, Zelinskyi signed more than 100 airworthiness certificates based on documents from the Russian PJSC "Il", which has been included in the sanctions lists since 2016, which could bring the Russian enterprise tens of millions of dollars in profit.

Therefore, it is not excluded that Zelinskyi, together with Bilchuk, deliberately acted to the detriment of national security in the interests of the aggressor country. After all, how else can one explain not just the destruction of Ukraine's aviation potential, but the blocking of the development of aviation logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the conditions of the war unleashed by Russia?

In this regard, many questions arise regarding Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba's desire to appoint Zelinskyi as the head of the State Aviation Service instead of the dismissed Oleksandr Bilchuk. For now, this candidacy looks like an attempt to preserve the old order in the regulator under the guise of a new name.