Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Ukraine Defense Firm Caught Up in US-China Rivalry Probed for 'Subversion'

Oksana Bedratenko

   This story originated in [1]VOA's Ukrainianservice. Some information is
   from Reuters and RFE. VOA Ukrainian's TatianaVorozhkocontributed
   reporting.

   WASHINGTON - Ukrainian security officials have a launched an
   investigation into "subversive" activities by one of the Eastern
   European country's defense contractors over plans to supply military
   hardware to neighboring Russia.
   Ukraine's main government agency for counterintelligence and
   counterterrorism, the SBU, confirmed Thursday that MotorSich, the
   country's largest manufacturer of engines for missiles and military
   aircraft,was under investigation for preparing an illegal export
   shipment of military or dual-use equipment to Russia, with whom Ukraine
   is at war. The news was first reported by RFE.
   SBU officers raided MotorSichheadquarters and seized its shares in 2018
   when the defense firm, then valued at nearly $500 million, wasin the
   process ofbeing sold to a Chinese company.
   That Chinese aeronautical firm, BeijingSkyrizonAviation, renewed
   efforts to acquire a controlling share of MotorSichin June, drawing
   scrutiny from Kyiv's Anti-Monopoly Committee.
   The prospective sale also drew the attention of White House officials,
   who told Ukrainian media ahead of WhiteHousenationalsecurityadviser
   John Bolton's late-August visit to Kyiv that MotorSichshould not be
   handed over to a "potential enemy."
   As Ukraine's antitrust agency began reviewing the proposed China deal,
   the U.S.-government-run Overseas Private Investment Corp., an agency
   that provides financial support for American companies looking to
   invest in emerging markets, said it would consider backing a
   U.S.private-sectorbid for MotorSich.

References

   1. http://ukrainian.voanews.com/

.