NABU and SAPO exposed the current People’s Deputy, heads of district and city military civil administrations, and National Guard servicemen in bribery when purchasing UAVs and electronic warfare equipment — the scheme consisted of concluding state contracts with supplier companies at knowingly inflated prices.
NABU and SAPO exposed the current People’s Deputy, heads of district and city military civil administrations, and National Guard servicemen in bribery when purchasing UAVs and electronic warfare equipment — the scheme consisted of concluding state contracts with supplier companies at knowingly inflated prices.
«Today, a number of measures were taken to expose persons involved in committing a corruption crime. Among those caught taking bribes are the current People’s Deputy of Ukraine, heads of district and city military civil administrations; servicemen of the National Guard. The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier enterprises at knowingly inflated prices — up to 30% of the contract amount was returned to the participants in the crime in the form of ill-gotten gains,» NABU and SAPO reported on Telegram.
Currently, 4 people have been detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
According to the UP, among the individuals whom NABU and SAPO have exposed in large-scale corruption are People’s Deputy from «Servant of the People» Oleksiy Kuznetsov, Head of Mukachevo RDA and former Head of Luhansk OVA Serhiy Gaidai, and Head of Rubizhanskaya MVA of Luhansk Oblast Andriy Yurchenko. Also detained are the head of a military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, a beneficiary of the enterprise, and the director of a company supplying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
According to sources, in the second half of 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine summarized information reports received from various public and private sources and the media that during state procurement of defense equipment, there are systematic facts of embezzlement of state funds, receipt of illegal rewards in particularly large amounts by officials of state authorities. This leads to the manufacture of products, including UAVs, of low quality, which significantly reduces the defense capability and safety of our military.
The operational units of the NABU infiltrated the structure of an organized criminal group under the guise of a cover-up. As a result, the criminal activities of the group were revealed with the participation of the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuznetsov, a number of heads of regional authorities and local governments, commanders of military units, and a structural unit of the National Defense University, who, in collusion with manufacturers of defense products, systematically embezzled funds from subventions allocated by local governments to support the defense forces.
During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that in late 2024 and early 2025, People’s Deputy Oleksiy Kuznetsov, using his official position and authority as a person endowed with representative functions and having influence over individual leaders of the National Guard military units, acting together with Serhiy Gaidai, established a stable scheme of unlawful appropriation of budget funds and granting/receiving illegal benefits to heads of local self-government bodies, heads of military units and other persons during the procurement of defense goods by military units.
Thus, during the pre-trial investigation into one of the criminal offenses, it was established that on August 2, 2025, Kuznetsov, acting in collusion with the head of the Rubizhna City Military Administration of the Luhansk region, Andriy Yurchenko, an official of the National Guard and the head of the Mukachevo District State Administration, Serhiy Gaidai, received an illegal benefit in a particularly large amount, in the amount of UAH 1,500,000 for signing a state contract between military unit 3082 and the limited liability company «YUVITECH» for the purchase of «Hawks of Victory» 6D electronic warfare systems, for a total amount of UAH 5,000,000.
The received illegal profit was distributed by Kuznetsov in the following shares: 350,000 UAH each was received by Kuznetsov, Yurchenko and the manufacturer’s representative, 250,000 UAH was received by the head of the military unit, Myshansky V.S., and $100,000 was received by Gaidai and an official of the National Guard, the shares of which were transferred to Kuznetsov.
In addition, during the pre-trial investigation, evidence was also obtained that Kuznetsov had committed another particularly serious criminal offense. Thus, Kuznetsov, acting in collusion with Yurchenko, an official of the National Guard, Gaidai, representatives of LLC «AKOPTERS» and other members of the organized group, ensured that the head of the military unit 3018 of the NGU signed a state contract with LLC «AKOPTERS» for the manufacture and supply of FPV drones for a total amount of UAH 9,968,000, the cost of which was knowingly overstated. Subsequently, after fulfilling the terms of the state contract and transferring UAH 9,968,000 to the account of LLC «AKOPTERS», officials of the said company transferred to Kuznetsov his share of illegally obtained funds, part of which Kuznetsov transferred to other members of the organized group. The total amount of money that the members of the organized group took possession of by signing and executing the specified government contract was $43,000, and the total amount by which the cost of FPV drones was unjustifiably overstated was about $80,000.
Amid reports of the detention of Serhiy Gaidai in a corruption case, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved his dismissal from the post of head of the Mukachevo District State Administration. The press service of the Ukrainian government reports this.
«At an extraordinary meeting of the Government, a decision was made to send the President a draft order on the dismissal of the head of the Mukachevo District State Administration, Serhiy Gaidai,» the message says. The reasons for the dismissal are not specified. There is also no information about a possible successor to the position.
Oleksiy Kuznetsov is a deputy elected from the Servant of the People party in the 106th electoral district in Seversko-Donetsk, which is currently occupied by Russia. He has not done anything particularly memorable in the Verkhovna Rada during this time. Many observers learned about him for the first time after the NABU suspicion. It is significant that he voted to deprive the NABU and SAPO of their independence, and then to restore it. Serhiy Gaidai is originally from Seversko-Donetsk.
«During the investigation, the membership of People’s Deputy Oleksiy Kuznetsov in the faction will be suspended. We expect a court hearing on this case in due time. Those guilty of corruption crimes must be punished fairly, regardless of their status and positions,» wrote David Arakhamia. The party also suspended him from leading the Luhansk regional organization of the party.
The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which includes the National Guard, has already reacted to the detention. «The recent exposure of the National Guard servicemen is the result of the work of our law enforcement colleagues and proof that there can be no untouchables among lawbreakers,» Ihor Klymenko wrote. On his instructions, an internal investigation was launched, and the commander of the National Guard removed the defendants from their posts.
