A Billion-Dollar Shadow Over Ukrainian Helicopters

How companies with Russian ties receive billions in defense contracts — and why information about them is disappearing

In May 2025, journalists noticed a wave of disappearing online materials related to the activities of companies linked to Ukrainian businessman Roman Mileshko, as well as the alleged lobbying of their interests by Member of Parliament Ihor Kopytin, who chairs the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence (Verkhovna Rada – the Ukrainian Parliament). Articles from a number of media outlets were either deleted or replaced with vague and uninformative notices.

₴400 million “in the air”

An investigation published in April revealed that two companies from Mileshko’s orbit — NZOPERATIONS LLC (a Ukrainian private company, transliterated from “НЗОПЕРЕЙШІНС”) and Constanta Airlines PJSC (Private Joint-Stock Company) — may have underpaid approximately ₴400 million (approx. $10 million USD) in taxes, in part through schemes involving artificially low official salaries.

While the volume of their contracts surged into the billions of hryvnias during wartime, the declared salaries of company employees remained at a level of ₴14,000–22,000 per month, significantly below market rates in the aviation sector. For comparison: average monthly salaries at companies like SkyUp and Ukrainian Helicopters ranged from ₴98,000 to ₴172,000.

The suspected mechanism involves undeclared cash payments (“envelope salaries”), a practice common in Ukraine’s shadow economy.

Connections that can’t be hidden

Alongside the financial anomalies, political links have surfaced. Roman Mileshko previously worked at a company co-founded by Ihor Kopytin. A parliamentary aide to Kopytin also served as an executive at one of Mileshko’s firms. Kopytin himself has repeatedly addressed state institutions requesting support for aviation projects connected to these entities.

These circumstances raise concerns over potential lobbying of private interests within the national defense procurement system, which has a direct impact on state security.

Of note, Ukraine’s wartime defense contracts — especially those involving aircraft modernization — have increased dramatically in scale since 2022.

A Russian footprint in military modernization

Even more alarming are signs that some of Mileshko’s companies operated — or continue to operate — via offshore structures with Russian beneficiaries. Among the mentioned entities are AMIS (FZE) and LINKER (FZE), both linked to Russia and listed under U.S. sanctions.

FZE refers to Free Zone Establishments — a corporate structure in the UAE often used to conceal ownership and bypass export restrictions.

Through these offshores, key helicopter components were allegedly procured for use by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Investigation stalled?

In June 2024, Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security (BES) — a newly established anti-corruption investigative body — officially opened a criminal investigation into NZOPERATIONS LLC over suspected tax evasion. However, sources in the media report that the case was effectively frozen.

The alleged reason: political interference, possibly from a sitting MP who wields influence in both the parliamentary defense committee and aviation regulatory institutions (such as the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine, or Ukrainian CAA).

Who is involved in the investigation?

Ihor Kopytin is a current Member of Parliament from the “Servant of the People” party (the ruling party founded by President Volodymyr Zelensky), chairing the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence since 2019. He publicly presents himself as an expert in defense technologies and aviation. Before entering politics, he had business ties in the civil aviation sector, including a declared ownership stake in Rotor Ukraine LLC, a company specializing in aviation equipment sales.

Journalists discovered that in 2021, one of Kopytin’s aides served as an executive at Constanta Airlines — a company either owned by or closely affiliated with Roman Mileshko. In March 2022, Kopytin contacted the State Aviation Administration (Ukrainian CAA) with requests to expedite the registration of helicopters belonging to NZOPERATIONS LLC. According to investigative reports, these requests lacked proper legal justification.

In public comments, Kopytin denies any conflict of interest or lobbying activity. He claims the media narrative surrounding his name is part of a political smear campaign.

Roman Mileshko is a Ukrainian businessman known in niche circles as the owner of a cluster of companies focused on air transportation and aircraft maintenance. The most prominent among them are NZOPERATIONS LLC and Constanta Airlines PJSC, both of which have received state defense contracts for helicopter modernization on behalf of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Media outlets have repeatedly reported Mileshko’s links to offshore companies such as AMIS (FZE) and LINKER (FZE), registered in the UAE and previously involved with Russian entities now under U.S. sanctions. These offshores allegedly served as intermediaries for purchasing key components installed on Ukrainian military helicopters.

In 2024, companies from Mileshko’s network became the subject of a criminal investigation by the Bureau of Economic Security, focused on tax evasion. Separately, Ukrainian courts are reviewing a case of alleged treason and cooperation with Russia, in which Constanta Airlines is named. No final ruling has been issued in that case.

What lies behind the contracts: awaiting state responses

The editorial board has submitted official journalistic inquiries to: the Bureau of Economic Security (BES), the State Aviation Administration (Ukrainian CAA), the State Tax Service of Ukraine; the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP).

We will publish the responses as they become available. Simultaneously, we are collecting and preserving copies of materials that are being deleted or quietly altered in the public information space.