The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG), announced a suspicion against a former head of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense. The official is accused of abuse of power, which led to the procurement of defective military equipment worth more than 182 million hryvnias.
Contract with an unverified supplier
Investigators from the Main Investigative Department of the SBU established that the former official concluded a state contract with a foreign company that had not undergone due verification. Instead of licensed weapons that were supposed to arrive at the ministry's warehouses, the Ukrainian army received a batch of 250 units of 120-mm mortars that were unfit for use.
As noted in the case materials, when signing the contract, the official did not control the quality of the products and did not organize the mandatory tests. Despite this, state funds were transferred in full to the foreign contractor.
'Paper' mortars on the front line
Comprehensive forensic examinations and reports from the front line confirmed that the supplied equipment did not meet the declared specifications. Attempts to eliminate the identified defects did not yield results. The mortars did not ensure shooting accuracy and quickly broke down.
Ukrainian military personnel gave these samples a sarcastic name — 'paper', as they were in fact unable to perform their combat tasks. Moreover, the use of such equipment created a direct threat to the life and health of artillerymen. At present, the entire batch of defective weapons has been removed from the Armed Forces of Ukraine units.
Criminal liability
The man was notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power or office, entailing serious consequences). The sanction of this article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to six years. At the moment, law enforcement agencies are deciding on the choice of preventive measure for the suspect.
Other SBU investigations
Investigative actions are continuing in other areas. Earlier, one of the deputies of the mayor of Bucha was notified of suspicion of embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the restoration of housing damaged by Russian aggression. In addition, the special service prevented an attempt by Russian intelligence services to gain access to the latest Ukrainian developments in the field of unmanned technologies, exposing a lecturer at the Ministry of Defense Academy who was engaged in espionage activities.
