Ukrainian company offers USD 1 million to Russian pilots in exchange for delivering their fighter jets

Ukrainian state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom found a way to try to depower the war machine Russia that is currently punishing the small European country, which, if successful, would also allow it to equip its armed forces, in need of aircraft.

The state consortium announced that it would pay one million US dollars to anyone who captured and delivered a Russian military aircraft ready for armed combat. The call was not limited to Ukrainian citizens and military personnel, but mainly extended to “Russian pilots who want to change sides,” according to Reuters.

“To the pilots of the Russian Federation ready to participate in the program, we guarantee the issuance of the citizenship of a free country!” , said Ukroboronprom, while adding that “the offer is valid until victory, the victory of the strongest nation in the world: Ukraine”.

In addition to offering USD 1 million in exchange for Russian combat aircraft, the Ukrainian state-owned company said it will also pay $500,000 for each operational military helicopter seized from the Russian Aerospace Forces. “You and your family can become wealthy people, who will no longer be obliged to carry out criminal orders. You can become free and rich,” reads the statement addressing the Russians and seeking to persuade them.

The strategy of the Ukrainian company is to tempt the Russian military to surrender and thus not only reduce enemy forces but also increase Ukraine's military might. Ukroboronprom itself stated in a statement days ago that despite Russia's attack on most of its workshops, they continue to “strengthen the defense capabilities of the best and most powerful army in the world: the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” In the same text they declare to be repairing their military equipment as well as the Russian “trophy vehicles” they recovered.

For Russian pilots, meanwhile, the offer represents the possibility of leaving the war behind and starting again in another country. Of course, with a large bank account to cover the inconvenience.

Ukroboronprom, the military company that made this striking offer, had already appeared on the scene when it confirmed the loss of 'Mriya', the largest aircraft in the world, also known as the Antonov An-225. The destruction of this one-of-a-kind apparatus was lamented not only by the Ukrainian Government and people, proud to be the owners of this marvel of engineering, but by all aviation enthusiasts, because it was a famous and unparalleled aircraft.

At the time, as reported by Infobae, the company responsible for the control of the military-industrial complex that Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union (USSR) not only confirmed the suspicions that the An-225 had been destroyed during a battle between helicopters at Hostomel airport, but also assured that reconstruction was already being considered. According to what they stated, it would take more than 5 years of work and an investment of 3 billion US dollars. “Our task is to ensure that these costs are covered by the Russian Federation, which has caused intentional damage to aviation and the air cargo sector of Ukraine,” they said from Ukroboronprom.

Meanwhile, the conflict is close to a month old and the bombing in Ukraine does not cease. In the last few hours, a 35-hour curfew came into effect in the capital Kiev, after Russian shells hit the Retroville shopping center and killed at least eight people.

The deaths on both sides are piling up and Vladimir Putin continues to fail to accept Volodymyr Zelensky's request to hold a meeting “in any format”, crucial, according to the Ukrainian president, to end the war that is in the veil of the world.

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