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The intelligence agency says Moscow's propaganda machine is working at full throttle.
After Ukraine won one of the tenders for the repair of two Mi-17V-5 helicopters for Afghanistan, the Russian Helicopters Holding immediately claimed that "Ukrainian enterprises are risking the lives of the American and Afghan military," before even turning to threats, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports.
The Afghan specialists carefully examined all paperwork provided by the Ukrainian side and signed off the contract. It was Motor Sich (Zaporizhia) and Aviakon (Konotop) which were set to do the repair works, the intelligence agency, SZR, explained in a rather rare example of a direct response to Russia's malign propaganda efforts to the detriment of Ukraine's economic interests.
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Russian Helicopters announced they were disclaiming responsibility for further safe operation of the helicopters.
"And finally, they resorted to threats, stating that the holding 'will inform all interested Russian and foreign organizations and agencies of including Ukrainian companies in the list of aircraft repair enterprises carrying out illegitimate repairs of Russian-made helicopters', " the SZR noted.
The issue was massively spun by the Russian propaganda machine both within Russia and beyond.
Back in 2001, the report adds, the U.S. Government began purchasing Russian Mi-17V-5 multipurpose helicopters for the Afghan National Air Corps. The choice was due to the fact that the Afghan military pilots had already flown them.
In 2014, the United States, after the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, severed the project due to Russia's violation of international law. In addition, the U.S. Government started imposing sanctions on Russia, including on the country's defense firms.
However, Russian authorities have been tirelessly repeating the claim that "without the participation and control of the developer and manufacturer of this type of helicopters" their repair is impossible.
However, the claim of the alleged monopoly didn't hold water, the report underscores.
For example, in 2015, the NATO Supply and Procurement Agency announced a similar tender for the Mi-8 maintenance for the Afghan Air Force. Under the terms of the bidding, only companies incorporated in the Alliance member states could apply for contract.
Therefore, Russian firms were off the table from the very start, the report notes, adding that it was Slovak companies that won the tender.
Another argument of the Russian holding is the alleged lack of rights and legitimacy of the Ukrainian side. At the same time, this argument was successfully refuted in September 2019 when U.S. strategic adviser Donald Winter officially handed to the then-Defense Minister of Ukraine, Andriy Zahorodniuk, certificates warranting Ukrainian defense companies to repair Mi-class helicopters for foreign customers.
Moreover, over years, Ukrainian manufacturers have accumulated major experience in maintenance and repair of helicopter equipment – both in the country and overseas – which makes ridiculous any unfounded allegations on the part of Moscow, the report concludes.