In a ruling by the Moscow Arbitration Court, Pratt & Whitney Vostok LLC, a subsidiary of the American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, has been ordered to pay over 2 million rubles (approximately US$20,600) in a legal settlement to Russian leasing company ALD Automotive LLC.
The court decision, which was reviewed by state-owned media agency TASS, is the latest chapter in a dispute that escalated after Pratt & Whitney Vostok abruptly decided to exit the Russian Federation in 2022.
Pratt & Whitney, a US-based key player in the aerospace sector, is known for producing engines for various aircraft, including the F-35 and F-16 aircraft.
Its Russian subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney Vostok, entered into a leasing agreement in 2016 with ALD Automotive, leasing three vehicles: a Toyota Fortuner, a Kia Sorento, and a Honda Pilot.
However, in 2022, with the company’s plans to leave Russia, the lease agreements were abruptly terminated.
The legal dispute arose when ALD Automotive demanded compensation for the return of the leased vehicles and the early termination of the lease agreements, amounting to a sum of 2 million rubles, plus additional charges for the return of property and the state duty on the claim.
Pratt & Whitney Vostok, however, failed to make the payment, prompting ALD Automotive to seek redress in court.
Despite being notified of the court hearing, the defendant did not appear, and the case proceeded in their absence. The Moscow Arbitration Court ruled in favor of ALD Automotive, ordering Pratt & Whitney Vostok to pay 2,001,088 rubles for the early termination of the lease agreements, 28,976 rubles for the return of the leased property, and 33,154 rubles in-state duty.
“They [Pratt & Whitney Vostok LLC] urgently left the country. They ran so fast that they forgot to pay the office that rented them cars 2 million rubles. It was not possible to agree; the debt was transferred to collectors, there was a trial, and a predictable decision was to recover 2 million from the Americans,” the media report says.
Local media described the decision as predictable, noting that the court’s ruling marks the culmination of a drawn-out legal battle.
Russian media reports suggest that ALD Automotive intends to share the recovered funds with a former colleague, lawyer Nikolai, who served in the special military operation in Ukraine in 2024. During his time in service, Nikolai was injured, sustaining leg wounds from mine fragments.
Ukraine’s F-16 Fighter Fleet
The Moscow Arbitration Court’s ruling has attracted widespread attention in Russian media, likely due to Pratt & Whitney’s major role in developing engines for American military aircraft, including the F-16 fighter jet, which has been at the center of global discourse following the West’s decision to supply these jets to Ukraine.
Ukraine has already received US-made F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark, deploying them primarily for air defense against Russian missile strikes. The first batch arrived in August 2024, and these jets have been actively engaged in countering Russian aerial attacks.
In early January, Ukraine’s Air Force claimed that one of its F-16s successfully intercepted six Russian cruise missiles in a single mission in December, using its aircraft cannon to down two of them.
On January 31, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced that the Netherlands would send another batch of F-16s to Ukraine in 2025.
Additionally, the Dutch Ministry of Defense is supporting the training of 26 Ukrainian Air Force technicians to become Crew Chiefs—specialists responsible for the final checks and maintenance of these fighter jets.
The Crew Chiefs’ duties include inspecting the aircraft before takeoff and after landing. They conduct thorough checks, start the aircraft, and remove safety pins from key components like the landing gear and fuel tanks to ensure the F-16 is ready for flight.
Once the aircraft returns, they take charge of it from the pilot for post-flight maintenance. The training is being conducted at a Dutch air base and is expected to conclude by the end of April.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans confirmed this initiative during Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov’s visit to The Hague. The Netherlands, Denmark, and the US lead the Air Force Capability Coalition (AFCC), which aims to integrate Ukraine’s Air Force with NATO standards.
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