Ukraine indicts former head of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation

On January 20, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General filed an indictment with a court against Yuriy Slyusar, former CEO of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), according to the OPG’s press service.

Slyusar is charged with aiding and abetting Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine under Articles 27(5), 28(2), and 437(2) of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.

The case concerns his role in reorienting Russia’s aviation industry to meet military needs following the launch of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Under Slyusar’s leadership, UAC was involved in the production, repair, and modernization of military aircraft used in strikes against Ukraine, including Tu-22M3, Tu-160, and Tu-95MS strategic bombers, MiG-31 interceptors, Su-24M, Su-25, Su-35, and Su-57 fighter jets, as well as Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft.

Slyusar has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2022 and is also listed under sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

He headed UAC from 2015 to 2024. In late 2024, he was appointed governor of Russia’s Rostov region, while Vadim Badekha took over as CEO of the corporation.

• In April 2022, a notice briefly appeared on the website of Sukhoi, a UAC subsidiary, announcing Slyusar’s dismissal and stating that his aircraft were bombing Ukrainian cities. Russian authorities later claimed the publication was the result of a hacker attack.