Airport, Baltic States – CIS, Lithuania, Russia, Security

The Mi-8T repairs in Russia earlier this year received the green light from a public procurement commission headed by a Defense Ministry official, by the commander of the Lithuanian Air Force and by the head of the Weaponry and Control Systems Department at the Defense Ministry.

The process was put to a halt last month.

Defense Minister Juozas Olekas launched an official investigation and temporarily suspended Colonel Audronis Navickas, the Air Force commander, from office. The minister says that he consulted Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Zukas on the eve of the suspension.

Zukas describes their conversation as pre-notification. The general says that he disagrees with the conclusion of the minutes that the decision on Navickas' suspension from office was made at an official meeting, saying that this issue was not discussed during that meeting.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry says that helicopter repairs in Russia would have run counter to the European Union's decisions on sanctions against Moscow and to Lithuania's foreign policy.

Helisota, a Lithuanian helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul services provider, planned to subcontract a Russian company for helicopter parts repairs after winning a public tender process.

Helisota is 100% owed by Warsaw-listed Avia Solutions Group (ASG), Lithuania's biggest aviation business group, whose management board is chaired by Gediminas Ziemelis.