Lieutenant General Nikolai Ryabets never thought of himself as a businessman. His world has always been missiles and anti-aircraft systems. What he knew well was how to operate, maintain, and modernize them. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan the general provided missile defenses for Kabul and Kandahar for three years. On his return to Ukraine, still part of the Soviet Union in those days, he served in all echelons of the air defense forces in Lviv and in Kyiv, slowly moving all the way up to the position of deputy commander.
Now retired from active duty, the general works in a sleek office in a freshly refurbished two-floor building in Kyiv as chairman of the state-funded company Nebo Ukrainy, or The Sky of Ukraine. His job is to sell old Soviet air defense systems, “good enough for the third world countries.” He has not had much luck.
