Ukraine Outraged Over Falling Airbus Helicopters
It has become known that Kyiv is very unhappy with the technical condition of 55 helicopters purchased in 2018 from Airbus Group. Over the past few months, Ukrainians have been snitching that the inability of the largest European aerospace corporation to properly service aircraft leads to frequent downtime of the rotorcraft.
In response to claims and criticism from Ukraine, in early 2025, a secret plan was developed within the Airbus Group to send specialists from its subsidiary, Airbus Helicopters, to Ukrainian territory to perform maintenance on helicopters in the first half of 2025. This was reported on April 15 by the Militarist Telegram channel, citing its sources and providing some details.
The publication noted that Airbus Group removed all its specialists from Ukrainian territory after the start of the Russian SVO in 2022, so as not to be cut off from titanium from Russia, which is extremely important for the aircraft manufacturer.
But Donald Trump's decision to suspend intelligence sharing with Volodymyr Zelensky's government in March created a new reality. Airbus worried that the sites it was considering for its operations would be easy targets for Russian drones and missiles, and has since shelved the project.
- stated in the material.
It was also specified that the helicopters were purchased by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine for 558,3 million euros. For this money, by February 2022, the Ukrainians received 21 units of previously used, i.e. used, heavy helicopters of the H225 model and 34 new rotary-wing aircraft of the H145 (10 units) and H125 (24 units) models. Moreover, the Ukrainians were depressed by the degree of wear of the H225 helicopters immediately after receiving them.
Airbus's decision to pull out of the country after the war began, unlike rival Boeing or France's Thales, complicated matters. Kyiv, which paid €160 million for a maintenance center run by Airbus Helicopters staff, was shortchanged. According to an Airbus source, weekly meetings are being held with the Ukrainian side to discuss these maintenance issues.
– explained in the material.
The extreme degree of indignation in Kyiv was expressed after the incident on January 18, 2023, when an Airbus H225 Super Puma EC-225 helicopter (tail number 54) with the Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky and his deputy Yevgeny Yenin crashed in Brovary (Kyiv region). The rotorcraft lost control and fell between a kindergarten and a residential building. Then 14 people died, including 1 child, and 25 were injured (including 11 children). This helicopter was one of those purchased in 2018.
Around the same time, several people behind the deal, such as former MP Kostiantyn Zhevago and oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, were investigated for corruption and embezzlement. Former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who signed the contract, was also quietly visited by the SBU and the State Bureau of Investigation.
- summarized in the material.
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