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Officials from Russias state civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia have been accused of de-registering aircraft that were later used by the Ukrainian military, the pro-Kremlin tabloid Izvestia reported Monday, citing anonymous law enforcement and Transportation Ministry sources.

A Transport Ministry inspection in July revealed that 59 planes and helicopters had been illegally removed from Russias civil aircraft register between March 2022 and June 2023, according to the publication.

Izvestia said 36 of the aircraft had been sold abroad, eight of which ended up in countries deemed unfriendly by Moscow.

Three Mi-8 transport helicopters were allegedly used by Kyiv in its ongoing defense against invading Russian forces, according to one of the publication's sources, while an Il-76 transport plane had made cargo deliveries.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) pressed criminal charges against three Rosaviatsia officials.

The first charge of negligence carries a maximum punishment of three months in jail, while the second charge of abuse of power is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Police officers and FSB agents reportedly raided Rosaviatsias Moscow headquarters on Feb. 7, with law enforcement seizing documents belonging to flight safety inspection chief Kristina Byvalina, her former deputy Anna Zhiltsova and civil aircraft registration deputy chief Pyotr Kozyrev.

It was not clear whether the officials were taken into custody.

Izvestias sources claimed the aircraft de-registration scandal led to the dismissalof formerRosaviatsia chief Alexander Neradko in September.

Neradko worked at the agency for 14 years and could face criminal prosecution.

Rosaviatsia, the Transport Ministry, the FSB and the Interior Ministry did not respond to Izvestias requests for comment.

The reported civil aircraft de-registration took place as the Russian aviation sector was hit hard by Western sanctions following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In response, Russia hasseized $10 billion worth of aircraft leased from Western companies and limited flights to so-called friendly countries" to avoid the planes from being impounded.

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Russia's Aviation Body Allegedly Allowed Aircraft Export to Ukraine Izvestia - The Moscow Times

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