Business news from Ukraine

“Antonov” returns 49% stake in its subsidiary company

Antonov State Enterprise has once again become 100% owner of the German company Antonov Logistic Salis – a company created to service air cargo transportation under the program of NATO countries, having achieved the exclusion of Belgian Cargo Air Solutions, which previously owned 49% of shares, from the number of shareholders.

“Our company since yesterday is the sole shareholder of the German subsidiary Antonov Logistic Salis. Now all dividends from its activities will go to the accounts of Antonov. The point in this process has been reached,” Acting Director General Yevgeny Gavrilov was quoted in the SE’s statement on Thursday.

It is specified that the case of SE Antonov and Cargo Air Solutions was considered in German courts, including the High Land Court of Dresden, where the company managed to prove the fact of falsification of the minutes of the shareholders’ meeting, which served as the basis for exclusion of Cargo Air Solutions from the list of shareholders.

“We have corrected the mistake of the former management of Antonov SE, whose actions authorized the sale of shares to an unknown company established less than a month before the purchase of shares. This fact was written about in the media back in 2021. In June 2023, Antonov SE at the company’s shareholders’ meeting made a decision to exclude Cargo Air Solutions from the list of shareholders,” the release said with reference to Olga Abramova, Antonov’s director for legal affairs and corporatization.

According to her, the Belgian company tried to block this decision in the courts, but to no avail.

The SE recalled that the first Antonov Logistic Salis contract under the program with NATO was signed in 2019 for three years. Last June, it was extended until the end of 2026.

Antonov SE provides air transportation for NATO and EU countries for emergency cargo delivery in crisis situations. Two An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft may be used. They should be in stand-by mode at Leipzig airport (Germany), and on additional call Antonov provides three more airplanes.

Former Antonov general director arrested

The Security Service of Ukraine reports the arrest of former Antonov general director Serhiy Bychkov and head of the aviation security unit Oleksandr Netesov in the Mriya destruction case, while former deputy general director Mikhail Kharchenko has been put on the wanted list.
In a telegraph channel on Friday, the Ukrainian security service said it had gathered a solid evidence base on the former Antonov general director, his deputy and the head of the aviation security unit.
“According to the materials of the investigation, on the eve of a full-scale invasion, the officials did not allow members of the National Guard of Ukraine to enter the territory of the Gostomel airport to prepare for its protection. Such criminal actions led to the temporary seizure of a strategically important airfield, surrounding settlements and the destruction of the AN-225 Mriya aircraft,” the report stresses.
The SBU claims that during January-February 2022, officials explicitly prohibited the Ukrainian military to erect defensive fortifications and fortifications at the airfield, for this purpose an order was given to block the access of the National Guard fighters to the territory of the facility.
Based on the collected evidence, investigators of the Main Investigative Directorate of the SBU reported all three defendants on suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of the legitimate activities of the AFU and other military formations in a special period, resulting in the death of people and other grave consequences).
“Two persons involved in the proceedings were selected a measure of restraint in the form of detention. Comprehensive measures are taken to bring to justice the former deputy director general of the SE “Antonov”, who is now hiding from justice. He is wanted,” the SBU informs.
“We are conducting an objective investigation of this case. Those who actually helped the enemy to destroy one of the symbols of Ukraine should suffer the deserved punishment. And the SBU will do everything necessary for this. And our state will definitely build a new plane, because the Mriya, just like Ukraine, cannot be destroyed,” the head of SBU Vasyl Malyuk said in the message of the special service.
As a law enforcement source clarified to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kharchenko, a wanted former deputy director of Antonov, is probably now in Crimea.

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“Antonov” starts construction of second An-225 Mriya aircraft

The Antonov State Enterprise (Kiev) has started the construction of a second An-225 Mriya aircraft to replace the one destroyed by the Russians in February during the hostilities in Gostomel (Kiev region), said Yevhen Gavrilov, director general of the enterprise
“The works are being carried out in a secret location. The second An-225 will be built using both new parts and parts of the damaged aircraft,” Gavrilov told Bild.
According to him, the second Mriya is already 30% ready. The construction cost is estimated at EUR500 million.
Gavrilov said that at an exhibition at the Leipzig/Halle International Airport, where Antonov Airlines is temporarily based, there are plans to organize a sale of merchandise to raise funds for the construction of the aircraft.
Meanwhile later the company clarified that there are some inaccuracies in the previously publicized information: only design work has begun and there are only 30% of components for the new aircraft.
“Design work in this direction has now begun. According to the available expert estimates, there are currently about 30% of the components that can be used for the second prototype aircraft. The cost of building the aircraft is estimated at least at EUR500 million. However, it is still too early to talk about the specific amount,” clarified the SE “Antonov”.
Besides, the company added that “more detailed information will be disseminated after Ukraine wins the war”.

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ANTONOV AIRLINES MOVES BASE TO LEIPZIG

Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv) has reported that due to the impossibility of operating international flights from Ukraine, five An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft are temporarily based at the airport in Leipzig (Germany).
“The work of the branch of the air transport division (ATP) of the Antonov State Enterprise, known in the world as the Antonov Airlines, has been organized there, and a base has been equipped for the maintenance of these aircraft,” the company said on Facebook.
Antonov said that this allows the company to continue fulfilling commercial and government orders for the transportation of super-heavy and oversized cargo.
“After the victory over the Russian invaders and the completion of a set of works to restore the efficiency of the Kyiv-Antonov-2 airport, it will again become the base for the Ruslan fleet of Antonov Airlines,” the company added.
As reported, due to Russian hostile actions, the Antonov base in Hostomel was destroyed, the base at Sviatoshyn was damaged, An-26, An-74 aircraft and the flagship of the world aviation fleet An-225 Mriya were destroyed.
In addition, according to Antonov State Enterprise, five more aircraft were damaged – An-12, An-22, An-28, An-132D and An-124-100-150.
The company said that on the eve of the Russian invasion, five An-124 aircraft were withdrawn from Ukraine; An-26, An-74 and An-225 Mriya aircraft were also ready to leave the country on February 24.
Antonov State Enterprise initiated the foundation of the International Fund for the revival of the An-225 Mriya transport aircraft.

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ANTONOV STATE ENTERPRISE SHOWS FIRST MILITARY TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT

Antonov State Enterprise, which is part of Ukroboronprom state concern, at the end of last year demonstrated the first military transport aircraft An-178-100R No. 001 designed for flight certification tests. “Ukraine demonstrates its defense capability thanks to synergy, united efforts… The synergy of [the relevant parliamentary committee who fully support the Armed Forces, representatives of the command of the Armed Forces, the leadership of Ukroboronprom, the leadership of the plant and the Ministry of Defense] guarantees our exact victory with you, and it will not only be three such planes, but more,” Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said at the plane’s roll-out ceremony in Kyiv on December 28.
Director of General Antonov State Enterprise Serhiy Bychkov said that the aircraft was transferred to a flight test base for ground and flight tests.
According to him, the state, through Ukreximbank, allocated an almost interest-free loan to the Antonov to manufacture the aircraft for the Ministry of Defense, and the company has already received about UAH 1 billion from the Ministry of Defense.
Bychkov said that this is the first aircraft of this generation in design, ergonomics and management, which was created in the post-Soviet space. “Such an aircraft in this class has not yet been on our territory, so it will require very careful, reliable testing in all parameters to make the first flight. I will not sign the acceptance act if I am not convinced that the first flight will be completely safe and reliable. Such a control system has not yet existed and does not exist. You are present at the opening of a new era. In the Soviet Union, there was no such aircraft, and now Russia certainly doesn’t have,” Bychkov said.
At the same time, the director general of the Antonov State Enterprise said that the auxiliary power unit for the aircraft was manufactured in Italy.
“There is not a single product, the equipment of which is Russian-made, I declare with all my authority… I have nothing to hide, nothing to deceive, especially from the Ministry of Defense,” he said.
An-178-100R is a next generation aircraft that can be used for the transportation of personnel, the delivery of weapons and light military equipment by landing and parachute methods, as well as for the transportation of goods. The aircraft is designed to transport up to 100 people in total, people in need of medical evacuation (40 people on standard sanitary stretchers, 38 people on the side seats, accompanied by 4 paratroopers), and paratroopers up to 86 people.
More than 30 Ukrainian enterprises take part in the An-178-100R program, which produced 177 types of components for this aircraft. In particular, for the first time in Ukraine Antonov, scientific and technical complex Ekran, PJSC FED, SOE Kharkiv Aggregate Design Bureau have developed and implemented a modern electronic control system for aircraft and a control system for wing mechanization. SOE Pivdenny (Yuzhny) Machine-Building Plant has launched the production of main landing gear. Foreign suppliers from Europe, the United States and Canada are also involved in the equipment of the aircraft.
Antonov received a state procurement order for the construction of three aircraft with the support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the end of December 2020.
The airframe of the first of the three ordered aircraft was fully completed. The fuselage, wing, and tail unit of the second An-178-100R were assembled ahead of schedule.

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ANTONOV WANTS TO DEVELOPE AN-148 REGIONAL AIRCRAFT PROGRAM

The transfer of An-148-100 aircraft, previously operated by other airlines, to Ukraine has a positive effect for Antonov state-owned enterprise, Viktor Kazurov, the program director for An-148 and its modifications, said.
“For Antonov state enterprise, this is a new stage in the development of the regional passenger aircraft program, which will have a positive effect on their production,” he told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the recent statement by Sergei Turkin, the director of the Voronezh leasing company Ilyushin Finance Co, about the intention, as part of a civil aircraft remarketing strategy, to sell its remaining five An-148s, possibly to Ukrainian operators.
According to Kazurov, the use of An-148-100 by Ukrainian airlines will allow Ukrainian citizens to travel even from small regional airports with the level of comfort and speed of mainline liners, and the planes themselves will fly, not stand idle.
The director of the An-148 aircraft program positively assessed the appearance in Ukraine at the end of October of this year of a new airline Air Ocean Airlines, whose fleet includes An-148s.
“This airline appeared at the right time and in the right place. It is developing an actively growing niche of regional transportation,” he said.
Kazurov recalled that Air Ocean Airlines passed state certification on October 23, and on October 30 it made its first flight on the route Kyiv (Zhuliany)-Mykolaiv-Kyiv. Then in November the company opened flights from Kyiv to Zaporizhia, Lviv, Chernivtsi, and in December it connected Lviv and Kharkiv.
“We welcome the arrival of this company to the Ukrainian market, which contributes to the development of regions, the creation of new jobs, the promotion of An-148 aircraft. Before the New Year, Air Ocean Airlines plans to establish air traffic between Lviv and Zaporizhia, as well as Kyiv and Kharkiv. Antonov provides comprehensive support to the operator and resolves emerging issues as soon as possible,” the expert emphasized.
Kazurov clarified that Air Ocean Airlines plans to receive three or four more aircraft in the first half of 2022, and in the future to bring the fleet to ten aircraft of the An-148/158 type.

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