Russian President Vladimir Putin no longer receives aviation updates from Sergei Chemezov, head of Rostec, the country’s state defense conglomerate, an investigation reported Tuesday.
For the first time since 2020, Chemezov did not inform the Russian president about progress in the country’s civil aviation, Russian newspaper Agentstvo reported, estimating that the Rostec CEO “avoided having to once again admit non-compliance with the replacement program. ” . “. Western airliners with imported aircraft.
Putin also asked Chemezov for updates on aviation, according to the publication.
Throughout the war in Ukraine, there have been a number of cases where Russian aircraft made emergency landings or experienced breakdowns due to technical problems, due to a lack of spare parts.
Russia-operated aircraft have been sanctioned by the United States government in reaction to the war in Ukraine, and aircraft brands have stopped delivering spare parts and new aircraft to the country.
The United States and the EU have also demanded the return of leased aircraft; The Kremlin has tried to prevent this by encouraging airlines to re-register planes in Russia.
That means the planes continued to fly without receiving software updates or mandatory maintenance checks needed to ensure their airworthiness, Bloomberg reported in March 2023.
According to Agentstvo, Putin and Chemezov last met in December, shortly after the Russian leader pledged to produce more than 1,000 Russian civilian aircraft by 2030.
“Our air fleet is greatly overloaded. . . with foreign-made aircraft,” Putin said in December, Reuters reported. “We plan to produce more than 1,000 aircraft until 2030, our own aircraft. Work is necessary. “
Shortly after this commitment, 283 billion rubles ($3. 1 billion) were allocated to Rostec to manufacture 1,036 aircraft by 2030.
Data collected through Newsweek in December indicated that breakdowns of Russian planes had tripled in just one year.
The data shows that between September 2023 and December 8, 2023, Russia experienced a total of 60 aviation incidents related to emergency landings, fires, and engine malfunctions, as well as other technical issues that forced aircraft to abandon their planned routes.
There were 15 incidents in September; 25 in October; 12 in November; and 8 on December 8, Newsweek found.
Earlier this month, a hundred Russian Sukhoi Superjet flying without passengers crashed near Moscow, killing three crew members. The plane, which was headed to Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport from the Lukhovitsy Aeronautical Plant, crashed 8 minutes after takeoff.
Local media reported that possibly any of the plane’s engines had failed.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek journalist based in Kuala Lumpur. She focuses on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and in the past she has worked with media outlets such as Daily Express, The Times, Harper’s BAZAAR and Grazia. She has an MA in News Journalism from the City of London, University of London and a BA in Journalism in Russian from Queen Mary, University of London. Languages: English, Russian
You can contact Isabel by emailing i. vanbrugen@newsweek. com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen
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