In the Odessa region, law enforcement officers detained the commander of one of the border detachments, who is suspected of stealing military equipment and its subsequent sale.
In the Odessa region, law enforcement officers detained the commander of one of the border detachments, who is suspected of stealing military equipment and its subsequent sale.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, during June 2023 — September 2025, a serviceman, using his official position and access to the unit’s property, illegally seized the equipment of the engineering and aviation service, which was intended for defense needs.
The investigation believes that dozens of pieces of equipment were involved. Among them are 54 sets of DJI Mavic 3 Pro and DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise M3E drones, seven more sets of DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise UAVs, several Sony cameras, laptops, a monitor for the VALK-1 unmanned aerial vehicle complex, as well as equipment from the Leleka-100 UAV. Law enforcement officers estimate the total amount of damage at approximately UAH 5.5 million.
The shortage of equipment was discovered during an inventory of the warehouse. According to law enforcement, the suspect disposed of this property at his own discretion: he sold it through an online classifieds service to civilians and volunteers, and handed over some of the equipment to a pawnshop.
The serviceman was informed of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 410 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — theft by a serviceman of other military property by abuse of official position, committed under martial law. He was detained, and the court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention with the alternative of bail in the amount of UAH 5.4 million.
The sanction of this article provides for 10 to 15 years of imprisonment. The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation in Mykolaiv under the procedural guidance of the Odessa Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Field of Defense of the Southern Region.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how the State Bureau of Investigation in the Donetsk region detained a serviceman suspected of illegal arms trafficking. During a search of his home, in addition to ammunition and explosives, a large stock of drones and batteries was found.
