[T]he Kuznetsov company in the Russian city of Samara suggested the blame lay not with its NK-33 engines, which formed the basis for the AJ-26 engines, but rather with their later modification in the United States, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.
[... "I]t’s important to note that during yesterday’s launch, the AJ-26 first-stage engines, which are a modification of the NK-33, were functioning normally.”
Russian rocket manufacturer insists it is not to blame for failed Antares launch
Kuznetsov company says engines used in Antares rocket were ‘functioning normally’ and suggests problem may lie with US modification of them
Alec Luhn in Moscow and Dan Roberts in Washington, The Guardian, 29 October 2014
The Kuznetsov company's claim of innocence hit the news the day after the mishap. They almost certainly did not know one way or the other at that point. If one doesn't consider that statement to be an outright lie, it's at least bullshit.
David Thompson, Orbital chairman and CEO, told analysts Wednesday the surplus Russian-built engines have a "fundamental reliability issue" and probably were responsible for the Oct. 28 mishap, which destroyed an Orbital Cygnus cargo vehicle loaded with 4,883 lb. of consumables, hardware and science equipment for the ISS.
[...] Thompson said preliminary evidence from telemetry and debris recovered at the state-owned Antares launch complex on Wallops Island, Virginia, "strongly suggests" that one of the two AJ-26s on the vehicle failed 15 sec. after ignition.
[... Similarly to what happened with a prior test article, i]nitial evidence also points to the turbomachinery as the site of the more recent AJ-26 failure, Thompson said.
Orbital Drops AJ-26 After Failure, Looking for Alternate Launcher to ISS
Frank Morring Jr, Aviation Week, Nov 5, 2014
We may yet, in due time, find out whether the investigation results show that the fault is either with the original engine or with the modifications.
Perhaps this is a minor point, but it demonstrates the level of credulity appropriate for companies' public pronouncements, especially in situations where the facts aren't known now but will eventually out.
Based on NK-33 powerplants developed by Russia’s Kuznetsov Design Bureau in the 1990s, the AJ-26 is a LOX/kerosene propulsion system developed specifically for the Antares launcher by Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California.
Antares Mishap Could Hasten AJ-26 Engine Replacement
Amy Svitak, Aviation Week, Oct 29, 2014