The Ukrainian Armored Vehicles company (one of the largest private defense companies in Ukraine) stated that SBU officers, during a search of the apartment of the first deputy director of the company, inflicted bodily injuries on him, as a result of which he received a concussion and was hospitalized.
The Ukrainian Armored Vehicles company (one of the largest private defense companies in Ukraine) stated that SBU officers, during a search of the apartment of the first deputy director of the company, inflicted bodily injuries on him, as a result of which he received a concussion and was hospitalized.
This is stated in a statement published on behalf of the company.
According to the Ukrainian Armored Vehicles, the search is related to the case surrounding the purchase of disposable anti-tank grenade launchers. In February 2026, the state-owned enterprise Defense Procurement Agency (APA) announced the purchase of RPG-18, RPG-22, RPG-26 grenade launchers or their analogues at the request of the General Staff. Ukrainian Armored Vehicles also submitted its proposal among approximately 20 suppliers — with the Bulspike-AT, Bulspike-TB, RPG-75M and RTG68mm variants.
The company claims that it reduced the price twice at the request of AOZ and finally offered the cheapest option — RPG-75M manufactured by the Czech Zeveta Ammunition. According to the company, the contract has been fully fulfilled: the products were transferred to the designated consignee in May 2026, and in June they were fully delivered to the warehouse. The company claims that no complaints were received from the customer, although, according to it, the final acceptance of the AOZ grenade launchers has not yet been carried out.
«Ukrainian Armored Vehicles» claims that SBU investigators are falsifying information about allegedly low-quality grenade launchers, ordering «pocket» examinations and not involving the manufacturing plant in the quality assessment. The company calls the case falsified and aimed at putting pressure on the largest private player in the Ukrainian defense industry, and demands that the Prosecutor General’s Office verify the grounds for opening the proceedings and stop the actions of the SBU officers.
Update at 7:30 p.m. The Security Service of Ukraine denied allegations of beatings and reported that the searches were conducted jointly with the Office of the Prosecutor General in connection with a case involving the procurement of obsolete grenade launchers worth over 318 million hryvnia.
According to the investigation, a private company was supposed to supply the state-owned «Defense Procurement Agency» with 6,000 new RPG-75M anti-tank grenade launchers manufactured between 2024 and 2026 under a general contract worth 637 million hryvnias. Instead, in May 2026, the military unit received the first batch of weapons, which turned out to be re-marked equipment manufactured in the 1980s with signs of oxidation. Investigators note that this same foreign supplier had already attempted to sell these grenade launchers to Ukraine in 2022–2023, but the contract was terminated at that time, and the agreed-upon price was nine times lower.
Law enforcement officers conducted more than ten searches at the agency’s offices, the supplier’s premises, and the residences of those involved in the case. These investigative actions took place as part of criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine).
«During these investigative actions, no physical violence was used against any individual; the searches were conducted in accordance with criminal procedural law, and no complaints were received from those involved in the investigative actions,» the SBU emphasized, adding that this is confirmed by the official reports and video recordings.
«Ukrainian Armored Vehicles» is a private manufacturer of armored vehicles, mortars, shells, and drones, headed by Vladyslav Belbas; the ultimate beneficiary of the company in open sources is called former MP Serhiy Pashynskyi, who denies this connection. The company has previously come under the attention of law enforcement: in particular, in 2023, during a search of Belbas’s apartment, about 17,000 euros in cash were seized, and the company itself has been suing the Ministry of Defense for breach of contracts for a long time.
