Mistakes of the past. How the previous leadership of the State Aviation Administration destroyed the regulator's reputation

The State Aviation Service of Ukraine is not just an executive body. In wartime, it is an element of the national security system: the safety of airspace, international trust, the stability of the aviation market, and the ability of aviation businesses to operate effectively, as well as the preservation of Ukraine's aviation potential, depend on its decisions. That is why any personnel and management mistakes in this body have long-term consequences, writes UNN.

As history shows, the reputation of the State Aviation Service has been ruined for years by unscrupulous managers, who were obviously appointed through someone's lobbying or quota. However, a key role in this process was played by the previous leadership, primarily former head of the State Aviation Service Oleksandr Bilchuk and his deputy Ihor Zelinskyi, who, already during the full-scale war, brazenly forced the regulator to cooperate with companies associated with Russia's defense-industrial complex.

Systemic decisions that undermined trust

During Bilchuk's leadership and his "right-hand man" Zelinskyi, the State Aviation Service finally began to be perceived not as an independent regulator, but as a closed administrative center whose decisions were opaque, selective, contradictory, and often harmful to national security.

This refers to the fact that these decisions served the interests of the aggressor state or structures associated with the Russian military-industrial complex; they hindered the use of critically important transport aviation in the interests of the defense forces and, in general, systematically destroyed transport aviation in Ukraine.

As representatives of the aviation market explained to UNN, Zelinskyi's decision put operators of Il-76 aircraft before a choice: either cooperate with the sanctioned Russian developer or refuse to use the aircraft.

The leadership of earlier periods has repeatedly been involved in scandals related to corruption, abuse of power, and conflicts of interest.

Collectively, this created a dangerous precedent – the regulator responsible for aviation safety began to lose trust both within the country and among international partners.

Playing along with Russia: risks that cannot be ignored

Decisions made by the leadership of the State Aviation Service after 2014 deserve special attention. At a time when Ukraine officially recognized Russia as an aggressor state, steps continued to appear in regulatory practice that de facto legitimized the use of Russian technical approaches, certification practices, or documentation. Formally, the regulator's leadership tried to explain these decisions by "lack of alternatives" or "technical necessity," which was not always true. In fact, they preserved dependence on the Russian aviation legacy, complicated Ukraine's integration into the European aviation space, and most importantly, created the impression of tolerating the enemy's interests at the level of the state regulator.

Thus, Bilchuk was dismissed in the fall of 2025 due to the decision to transfer the maintenance of repair documentation for Mi-8MT (MTV) helicopters to AAL Group Ltd. The official ignored the presence of certified enterprises in Ukraine capable of performing these functions since 2014, after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. His choice fell on an offshore structure associated with the Russian defense-industrial complex. The ultimate beneficiary of AAL Group Ltd is the company "Russian Helicopters," which is part of the Russian state concern "Rostec."

It should be noted that back in 2024, the US Transportation Command USTRANSCOM recognized AAL Group Ltd as unsuitable for cooperation, obviously due to the company's connection with the Russian Federation.

In addition, during the work of managers Bilchuk and Zelinskyi, regulatory decisions were also made aimed at creating artificial obstacles to the operation of Il-76 in Ukraine, which is obviously undermining the state's defense capability.

Since the 1990s, Il-76MD aircraft could be operated in Ukraine without additional paperwork for their re-registration between various departments, including the Ministry of Defense. In June 2023, when Zelinskyi was acting head of the State Aviation Service, after appeals from representatives of the aviation market 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 is material damage to the state.

It should be noted 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." That is, any cooperation with this Russian enterprise is prohibited.

Despite this, Zelinskyi and Bilchuk issued dozens of airworthiness review certificates for aircraft based on the decision of the sanctioned PJSC "Il" from June 2022. In fact, in this way, the former leadership of the State Aviation Service legalized the use of documents from the aggressor country's enterprise, which, according to experts, could have brought tens of millions of dollars in income to the Russian side.

In addition, Zelinskyi 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 defense-industrial complex.

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

It is these actions that lawyers assess as obvious complicity with the enemy and emphasize the need for verification by law enforcement agencies.

Abuse of office and corruption as a marker of tradition

As already noted, the destruction of the reputation of the State Aviation Service did not begin with Bilchuk and Zelinskyi. The process started long before them. The events of 2016 are indicative, when detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau completed a pre-trial investigation against the then head of the State Aviation Service, Denys Antoniuk.

According to the investigation, Antoniuk, abusing his official position, granted illegal advantages to a private airline, blocking the flights of a state carrier. The losses amounted to more than 750 thousand hryvnias, and the indictment under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code was sent to court for consideration on the merits.

This case became one of the first loud signals that demonstrated that abuse of power in the State Aviation Service ceased to be an exception and turned into a practice.

In addition, even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the media drew attention to possible corruption risks in the field of issuing flight permits. It was about systematic earnings on accelerating the consideration or blocking of aviation applications. At the center of attention then was the first deputy head of the State Aviation Service, Serhii Korshuk, who was associated with corruption and a conflict of interest. The media reported on his family's business, contracts with state enterprises, and close ties with the former leadership of Ukraerorukh.

Despite the public outcry, the system actually reproduced itself year after year: leaders changed, but their approaches to work did not.

Domino effect: what we have today

Collectively, all these episodes have formed a rather toxic legacy for the State Aviation Service. After all, its reputation as an independent regulator has been destroyed, there is a deficit of trust from the aviation business and international partners, and suspicions of complicity with the enemy during the war destroy any hopes for work to ensure defense capability and preserve domestic aviation.

That is why any attempts to "reanimate" old personnel in the form of lobbying for the appointment of Ihor Zelinskyi as head of the State Aviation Service in manual mode today look not just like a mistake, but a direct threat to state interests.