Ukraine's Security Service says five were charged with plotting to embezzle funds intended to purchase 100,000 mortar shells.
Employees of a Ukrainian arms company conspired with Defense Ministry officials to embezzle nearly $40 million intended for the purchase of 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported.
The SBU said on Saturday night that five people had been charged and one detained while trying to cross the border into Ukraine. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison.
The announcement, which was confirmed by Ukraine's Defense Ministry, will have a profound impact on a country besieged by the nearly two-year Russian invasion.
The SBU said an investigation had “exposed Defense Ministry officials and managers of arms supplier Lviv Arsenal, who stole almost 1.5 billion hryvnias.” [$40m] in the purchase of shells.”
“According to the investigation, former and current senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and heads of affiliated companies are involved in the embezzlement,” the SBU stated.
The deal involved the purchase of 100,000 mortar shells for the army, with a contract secured in August 2022 and payment made in advance.
But weapons were never provided, according to the SBU statement, and some funds were later moved to other offshore accounts.
According to a statement from the security service, five people have received “notifications of suspicion”, the first stage of the Ukrainian judicial process, both at the ministry and at the weapons supplier.
One suspect, the SBU said, was detained while trying to cross the border into Ukraine.
Officials accused of participating in the plan include the current and former heads of the Department of Military and Technical Policy, Development of Armaments and Military Equipment of the Ministry of Defense, as well as the head of the Lviv Arsenal.
According to Ukraine's prosecutor general, the stolen funds have been seized and will be returned to the defense budget.
Corruption within kyiv's military has been a thorny issue as it tries to maintain public morale in wartime and make its case for joining the European Union.
Last September, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was dismissed amid several corruption cases.
Russia attacks large areas of Ukraine
The announcement came as Russia launched drone and missile attacks that hit civilian and critical infrastructure across Ukraine, the kyiv Air Force said on Sunday.
The Air Force said Moscow attacked the central Poltava region with two ballistic missiles fired from its Iskander ballistic missile system. It also launched three surface-to-air missiles over the Donetsk region in the east.
In the southeastern region of Zaporizhia, Governor Yuri Malashko said an infrastructure site had been hit by a drone strike.
Filip Pronin, governor of the Poltava region, wrote on Telegram that the attack took place in an industrial area in the city of Kremenchuk and caused a fire.
There were no preliminary reports of casualties, kyiv said.
