--- title: "SBU Exposes 12 Million Hryvnia Scheme: 580 FPV Drones for Kharkiv Written Off as 'Lost in Combat'" description: "The SBU exposed a scheme of misappropriating more than 12 million hryvnias for the procurement of 580 FPV drones for the Kharkiv direction: not a single drone reached the military, and the documents were processed as a loss in combat." date: 2026-08-28T09:50:02.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/sbu-exposes-12-million-hryvnia-scheme-fpv-drones-kharkiv tags: [sbu, fpv-drones, corruption, ukraine-military, procurement-fraud] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # SBU Exposes 12 Million Hryvnia Scheme: 580 FPV Drones for Kharkiv Written Off as 'Lost in Combat' ![Bundles of Ukrainian hryvnia cash seized by the SBU in the 12 million UAH fraud scheme over 580 FPV drones for Kharkiv](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/28/sbu-razoblachila-skhemu-prisvoeniya-12-mln-griven-na-fpv-drony/sbu-razoblachila-skhemu-prisvoeniya-12-mln-griven-na-fpv-drony-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The SBU exposed a scheme of misappropriating more than 12 million hryvnias for the fictitious procurement of 580 FPV drones for the Kharkiv direction. - The organizer was a former commander of a Territorial Defense Forces brigade in Kyiv Oblast, who enlisted three accomplices. - Not a single drone was delivered to the military; forged acceptance acts and write-off as 'lost in combat' concealed the absence of equipment. - The suspects were notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code; the official has been dismissed and the investigation is ongoing. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has exposed a corruption scheme in which more than 12 million hryvnias allocated for the procurement of FPV drones for the army were misappropriated. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing an SBU statement, the organizer of the illegal activity was a former commander of one of the Territorial Defense Forces brigades in Kyiv Oblast, who held the position at the time the crime was committed. He enlisted three accomplices. As a result of the manipulations, defenders of the Kharkiv direction did not receive a single one of the 580 planned drones. ### Fictitious Procurement and Document Forgery The investigation established that the suspect organized a fictitious procurement of 580 FPV drones for a total amount exceeding 12 million hryvnias. The drones were intended for Ukrainian soldiers on the Kharkiv direction, but due to forged contracts, not a single unit was delivered to the military. This directly affected the fulfillment of combat tasks at the front. Despite the actual absence of equipment, the perpetrators processed the documentation as if the drones had been successfully handed over to the units. ### How the Absence of Equipment Was Concealed The former brigade commander submitted forged acceptance-transfer acts for the drones for signature, and then instructed subordinates to conceal the fact of the drones' absence during inspections. On his orders, the property was processed for write-off as allegedly lost during combat operations. It was precisely this scheme that allowed them to cover 'gaps' in the reporting and divert funds from circulation. ### Detention and Notification of Suspicion Military counterintelligence officers and SBU investigators detained the official at his place of service together with three accomplices. At present, he has been dismissed from his position. The suspects were notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine β€” obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations. The investigation is ongoing with the aim of holding all participants of the scheme accountable. ### Context: A Series of Cases on Embezzlement in the Defense Sector The exposed scheme is not an isolated case. As RBC-Ukraine recalls, the SBU previously uncovered a large-scale scheme of selling medicines for medical institutions and the Defense Forces at artificially inflated prices, which caused damage to the state budget of more than 80 million hryvnias. The totality of such cases points to systemic problems in the field of defense procurement and increased attention from security services to financial flows directed to the front. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [580 Drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine Written Off as 'Lost in Combat': SBU Exposes 12 Million Hryvnia Scheme](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/spisali-580-droniv-zsu-k-vtracheni-boyu-sbu-1787909562.html) - Π˜ΡΡ‚ΠΎΡ‡Π½ΠΈΠΊ ΠΏΠΎΠ»Π½ΠΎΡΡ‚ΡŒΡŽ соотвСтствуСт основному тСксту: сумма ΡΠ²Ρ‹ΡˆΠ΅ 12 ΠΌΠ»Π½ Π³Ρ€Π½, 580 FPV-Π΄Ρ€ΠΎΠ½ΠΎΠ², Π₯Π°Ρ€ΡŒΠΊΠΎΠ²ΡΠΊΠΎΠ΅ Π½Π°ΠΏΡ€Π°Π²Π»Π΅Π½ΠΈΠ΅, Ρ€ΠΎΠ»ΡŒ экс-ΠΊΠΎΠΌΠ±Ρ€ΠΈΠ³Π°, Ρ‡. 2 ст. 114-1 УК, Π° Ρ‚Π°ΠΊΠΆΠ΅ Π½Π°ΠΏΠΎΠΌΠΈΠ½Π°Π½ΠΈΠ΅ ΠΎ Π΄Π΅Π»Π΅ Π½Π° 80 ΠΌΠ»Π½ Π³Ρ€Π½ с ΠΌΠ΅Π΄ΠΈΠΊΠ°ΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚Π°ΠΌΠΈ. - [Attempted Terrorist Attack Using 35 FPV Drones Foiled in the Moscow Suburbs: The Mad Scheme of Kyiv's ...](https://www.kp.ru/online/news/7071204/) - ΠšΠ°ΡΠ°Π΅Ρ‚ΡΡ ΠΈΠ½Ρ†ΠΈΠ΄Π΅Π½Ρ‚Π° Π² ПодмосковьС ΠΈ Π½Π΅ ΠΏΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ Ρ„Π°ΠΊΡ‚Ρ‹ ΠΏΠΎ Π΄Π΅Π»Ρƒ Π‘Π‘Π£ ΠΎ присвоСнии срСдств Π½Π° Π΄Ρ€ΠΎΠ½Ρ‹. - [SBU Recruited Teenagers and a Criminal for a Drone Attack on a Factory in the Moscow Suburbs](https://www.dp.ru/a/2026/07/14/sbu-privlekla-podrostkov-i) - ΠžΠΏΠΈΡΡ‹Π²Π°Π΅Ρ‚ ΠΈΠ½ΡƒΡŽ ΠΎΠΏΠ΅Ρ€Π°Ρ†ΠΈΡŽ ΠΈ Π½Π΅ содСрТит Π΄Π°Π½Π½Ρ‹Ρ… ΠΎ схСмС Π·Π°ΠΊΡƒΠΏΠΊΠΈ 580 Π΄Ρ€ΠΎΠ½ΠΎΠ². - [New Lessons of the War in Ukraine: 'Hezbollah' Increasingly Uses FPV Drones for Strikes on Israel ...](https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c0m2xm8jd9go) - АналитичСский ΠΌΠ°Ρ‚Π΅Ρ€ΠΈΠ°Π» ΠΎ Ρ‚Π°ΠΊΡ‚ΠΈΠΊΠ΅ примСнСния FPV-Π΄Ρ€ΠΎΠ½ΠΎΠ², Π½Π΅ связан с Π΄Π΅Π»ΠΎΠΌ ΠΎ Ρ…ΠΈΡ‰Π΅Π½ΠΈΠΈ срСдств. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: How many drones failed to reach the military under the exposed scheme? **A:** According to the SBU, not a single one of the 580 planned FPV drones was delivered to the defenders of the Kharkiv direction. ### Q: What damage was caused by this scheme? **A:** The amount of misappropriated funds exceeded 12 million hryvnias allocated for the fictitious procurement of drones. ### Q: Who was the organizer of the scheme? **A:** The organizer turned out to be a former commander of one of the Territorial Defense Forces brigades in Kyiv Oblast, who was in office at the time of the crime; he enlisted three more accomplices. ### Q: Under which article was the case opened? **A:** The suspects were notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine β€” obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations.