Decommissioned drones were sold to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as new: the special operation also reached Mykolaiv region

According to investigators, decommissioned drones unfit for combat missions were sold to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as if they were new products from the manufacturer. The scheme may have resulted in the embezzlement of more than UAH 16 million allocated for drone purchases.

During investigative actions in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk region and Mykolaiv region, the alleged ringleader and his accomplices were detained. The operation was carried out by the military counterintelligence service of the Security Service of Ukraine, with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The following agencies worked with the SSU to expose the scheme:

• the prosecutor’s office;
• the State Bureau of Investigation;
• the National Police.

Investigators believe the alleged ringleader was a former contract serviceman. In 2025, he left the service for health reasons and later rented a warehouse, where he set up an illicit workshop. The handling of the equipment was disguised as repairs to unmanned systems. He recruited several technicians to work there.

A commercial entity linked to him handled contracts for the purchase and sale of drones. According to investigators, the suspect used it to arrange deals to sell faulty equipment.

Law enforcement officials believe two Armed Forces of Ukraine officials were involved in the scheme. They recorded the drones as lost on the battlefield and handed them over to the alleged ringleader. The group then changed the serial numbers and QR codes and sold the drones back to the same military units at the price of new ones.

After receiving equipment unfit for combat missions, the military buyers decommissioned it again. According to the case materials, the drones were then returned to the scheme’s participants to have their markings changed once more and be resold.

Law enforcement officers carried out more than 100 searches at the suspects’ homes and in the workshops. They found:

• computer equipment;
• draft documents that, according to investigators, confirm the illegal activity;
• money believed to have been obtained through criminal activity;
• luxury cars.

All the suspects were notified that they were under suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• assisting in the theft of military property by a group of persons acting in prior collusion under martial law;
• laundering property obtained through criminal means.

If found guilty, the suspects face up to 15 years in prison. The investigation is ongoing: law enforcement officials are identifying everyone who may have been involved in embezzling defense budget funds.

We previously reported:

• SSU exposes embezzlement of more than ₴12 million allocated for 580 FPV drones for troops in the Kharkiv direction
• In Odesa region, an officer pawned drones and bought a Lexus for $27,000
• Contracts worth UAH 6.95 billion: fraud in the procurement of drones for the front
• From the front to the market: Ukraine uncovers scheme to steal hundreds of drones intended for the military, worth tens of millions
• Millions in pockets instead of drones at the front: more than UAH 47 million stolen from a military unit through “paper” FPVs