A court in Ukraine has convicted a former military simulator designer of transferring software for the KTS-21M, a simulator used to train MiG-29 pilots, to Belarus.
According to the verdict as described by Radio Svaboda on October 1, 2026, the defendant pleaded guilty in full and entered into a plea agreement. The court sentenced him to two years in prison but released him from serving the term, subject to a two-year probation period during which he will be supervised by probation authorities and may not leave Ukraine without special permission.
The charges concerned circumventing sanctions and breaching rules governing international transfers of dual-use goods and services. Radio Svaboda did not name the defendant.
MiG-29 simulator software sold for $1,000
According to Ukrainian investigators, the software was transferred through a messaging app, with the defendant allegedly receiving $1,000 in return.
He had previously worked as a designer of modular electronic flight simulators for the Mi-8 and Mi-24 military helicopters, the MiG-29 fighter, and the Il-76 transport aircraft. Investigators said he passed the software to a former colleague from the Institute of Automated Systems of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Radio Svaboda first reported the case on August 27, 2026. At that stage, a court had placed the suspect under a personal obligation, a non-custodial preventive measure. Searches of his home led to the seizure of mobile phones and electronic storage devices.
Belarusian simulator maker linked to case
Several Ukrainian citizens feature in the case. One of them allegedly works in Belarus for CJSC Group of Production Technologies and Aviation Engineering Aeromash, based in Machulishchy near Minsk.
Aeromash describes its activities as developing, producing, upgrading, and servicing procedural and full-mission simulators for aircraft and helicopters, as well as simulator software.
Machulishchy also hosts the military airfield where Belarusian partisans claimed a drone attack on a Russian A-50 airborne early warning aircraft in February 2023.
KTS-21M was developed in Ukraine
The KTS-21M is itself a Ukrainian-developed system. According to published product descriptions from Lviv-based simulator manufacturer Market-MATS, it is a stationary full-mission simulator intended for MiG-29 pilot training.
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The verdict does not establish what the transferred software was intended for in Belarus or whether it was later incorporated into an operational simulator.