Who is the Belarusian woman extradited to the USA to stand trial for smuggling aircraft parts

«A Girl with an Iron Character»

33-year-old Yana Liavonava is originally from Vitebsk — her relatives still live there. But she received her higher education in Russia: in 2016, she graduated from the Moscow Technological Institute.

After university, Yana linked her fate with Kazakhstan. Judging by leaked databases, she got a job at the large Kazakh airline SCAT. She moved to Shymkent, where the airline was based, and obtained a residence permit there, valid until 2027.

On social media, she describes herself as: «A girl with an iron character. The world through the eyes of a logistician. On the other side of aviation.»

Sanctions Schemes

Later, in 2021, she started working as a logistics technician at the Moscow company «Severo-Zapad Technics» (North-West Technics). She had a corporate email on the domain of this firm. «North-West Airlines» and its affiliated enterprises came under American sanctions in December 2023 — precisely for the illegal procurement of equipment for Russian aviation after the start of the war.

Flight data indicates that since the start of the war, the woman flew four times from Russia to the UAE (Dubai), three times to Turkey (Istanbul), and four times to Armenia (Yerevan). This coincides with the «gray import» routes often used to circumvent sanctions and mentioned in the indictment.

Павялічыць

According to the American investigation, Liavonava played an important role in organizing shadow deliveries. She was involved in processing cargo destined for Russia in transit through third countries — Armenia, UAE, and Maldives — to conceal the ultimate recipient from American export controls.

From May 2022, she organized a scheme for purchasing and supplying aircraft parts to Russia via Armenia to circumvent sanctions and a direct ban on exports to the Russian Federation. She corresponded with an American supplier and insisted that if the goods formally went to a third country, it supposedly made the deal legal.

The case materials mention four large orders she supervised: Airbus cockpit windows for $58.5 thousand, a Multiscan weather radar for a Bombardier Global 6000 for approximately $295 thousand, and two deliveries of fan blade pairs for an Airbus A321 costing $197.5 thousand and $200.5 thousand, respectively.

Notably, Liavonava arranged for the delivery of fan blades in August 2022, and on September 1, 2022, she flew to Armenia and stayed there for 9 days — precisely through an Armenian firm, the parts were purchased to circumvent sanctions. In total, the woman helped export goods worth over $2 million to Russia, according to the investigation.

The investigation emphasizes that Yana was an employed staff member and an executor.

Arrest and Extradition

Yana Liavonava was detained in France about a year ago at the request of American authorities. It is unknown which company she was working for at the time, but it seems she had resigned from «Severo-Zapad Technics» by then (traces of her work at the company disappear in mid-2023).

The woman is not online on social media, she was last online on Telegram «a very long time ago,» and on «VKontakte» — since the very end of October 2025. It is likely that she had internet access in a French prison.

Павялічыць

In November 2025, the woman was extradited to the United States. The Federal Prosecutor's Office charges her with conspiracy to violate export laws, smuggling, and money laundering.

Liavonava now faces a serious prison sentence in the USA. The investigation believes that her activities directly contributed to maintaining the combat readiness of the Russian aircraft fleet under conditions of international isolation.

However, there's a nuance — the US migration department wants to deport her before the trial, as she is illegally in the country.

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