Ignoring national security: why Deputy Minister Derkach "turns a blind eye" to attempts to appoint Zelinsky as head of the State Aviation Service

Serhiy Derkach, the Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, is ignoring facts that, according to journalistic investigations, indicate that the previous activities of Ihor Zelinsky, a candidate for the head of the State Aviation Service, in leadership positions in this body could have harmed national security and systematically undermined the state's transport aviation, UNN writes.

Candidate for the head of the State Aviation Service

In December last year, it became known that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was considering Ihor Zelinsky as the main candidate for the position of head of the State Aviation Service. Previously, he worked as deputy head of this aviation regulator and was dismissed in February last year by decision of Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

As UNN reported earlier, representatives of the Ukrainian aviation market characterize Zelinsky's period as deputy head of the State Aviation Service (2020–2025) as a time of systemic and targeted destruction of transport aviation. If in 2016 there were more than 20 Il-76 aircraft in the state register, by the beginning of 2025 only two remained, and even those are not airworthy.

Experts point out that it was precisely by the decisions of the previous leadership of the State Aviation Service (the head of the regulator Oleksandr Bilchuk and his deputy Ihor Zelinsky) that these aircraft were excluded from the Ukrainian register and effectively came under Russia's control. During this period, regulatory decisions were also made aimed at creating artificial obstacles to the operation of Il-76 in Ukraine, which is clearly an undermining of the state's defense capability.

In addition, since the 1990s, Il-76MD aircraft could be operated without additional paperwork for their re-registration between various departments, including the Ministry of Defense. In June 2023, when Zelinsky was acting head of the State Aviation Service, after appeals from aviation market representatives and the Ministry of Defense, he officially confirmed the absence of obstacles to the use of transport aircraft in the interests of Ukraine.

However, six months later, in December, he changed his mind, stating that Il-76MDs do not have civil type certificates and cannot be registered. As a result, the use of aircraft for military, humanitarian, and evacuation missions was blocked. In addition, this decision led to the downtime of aircraft and additional budget expenditures for their maintenance, which constitutes material damage to the state.

It is worth noting that after the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's invasion of Donbas, Ukraine imposed sanctions against the Russian developer of Il-76 aircraft, PJSC "Il". This means that any cooperation with this Russian enterprise is prohibited.

Despite this, Zelinsky issued dozens of airworthiness review certificates for aircraft based on a decision by the sanctioned PJSC "Il" from June 2022. In fact, in this way, he legalized the use of documents from the aggressor country's enterprise, which, according to experts, could have brought tens of millions of dollars in revenue to the Russian side.

In addition, Zelinsky ignored the fact that there is a certified organization in Ukraine capable of providing appropriate support for Il-76 aircraft of PJSC "Il" without involving Russian sanctioned companies that are part of the aggressor country's military-industrial complex.

As UNN representatives of the aviation market explained, Zelinsky's decision put Il-75 aircraft operators before a choice: either cooperate with the Russian sanctioned developer, or refuse to use the aircraft.

According to lawyer Dmytro Kasianenko, the facts revealed by journalists indicate the need for an investigation by law enforcement agencies.

"A regulator has no right to issue permits, certificates, or other acts if their basis is decisions or conclusions of Russian companies that are under sanctions. The sanctions regime means a complete prohibition of any direct or indirect cooperation, including through documents, expert opinions, or 'technical justifications'. Issuing a permit in such a situation actually legalizes the influence of a sanctioned entity through a state body of Ukraine. If such permits are issued, it gives grounds to talk about circumventing sanctions and continuing actual interaction with the Russian Federation," explained lawyer www.kasyanenko.com.ua Dmytro Kasianenko.

According to him, the actions of former officials of the State Aviation Service may be qualified under Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abetting the aggressor state), if intent and real assistance to the aggressor country are found, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power), provided that the decision was made contrary to the interests of the State Aviation Service, Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official negligence), if the officials "did not check" the sanctions restrictions and procedures.

Ignoring the obvious

Answering the question of why Zelinsky was chosen as a candidate for the head of the State Aviation Service, Deputy Minister Serhiy Derkach explained to journalists that they were looking for the best candidate.

"...Today we are working through all personnel decisions to find the best candidates who have experience in aviation in general, so that we can make the best personnel decisions," he explained, adding that the Government will then decide on the appointment itself.

Thus, it becomes clear that even after public disclosure, Serhiy Derkach continues to turn a blind eye to Zelinsky's previous activities in the State Aviation Service, which obviously caused significant damage to our state's defense capability.

The fact that Zelinsky's candidacy is personally lobbied by Derkach's boss, Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba, allows us to conclude that violations will continue to be ignored.

It is interesting that before working in the ministry, Serhiy Derkach held leadership positions in the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, including being deputy head of the apparatus and heading the department for preventing and detecting corruption. This experience, according to the logic of public administration, should have helped him react to risks directly related to national security and defense capability and quickly distinguish lobbying for "his own" from real attempts to find a good head of the aviation regulator.

However, in the case of Ihor Zelinsky, this did not happen. Despite the published journalistic materials that cast doubt on the official's decisions and actions during his work in the State Aviation Service, the relevant deputy minister did not initiate any official checks or investigations.

It should be noted that UNN sent an inquiry regarding attempts to appoint Zelinsky as the head of the State Aviation Service to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, but it was redirected to the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. The editorial office has not yet received a response.

In addition, UNN contacted Zelinsky himself several times for comment, but we never received an answer to our questions.