In 2024, the evacuated local authorities of the occupied Seversko-Donetsk of the Luhansk region publicly reported on purchases for the front: FPV drones, electronic warfare stations, equipment to counter enemy drones. The total amount is over 5.5 million UAH. On paper, everything looked correct: “assistance to military units”, prompt conclusion of contracts, acceptance and transfer certificates. But, as detectives and investigative journalists established, a significant part of this equipment never reached the troops. Money – yes, drones – no. This is currently being investigated by detectives of the Main Unit of the Bureau of Economic Security under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Field of Defense of the Eastern Region.
How the scheme worked
The mechanism was established through the municipal enterprise “Severodonetsk Trolleybus Administration”. It was through it that officials directed more than 5.5 million UAH allegedly for the purchase of FPV drones and electronic warfare stations. Formally, everything was carried out within the framework of the Program of Patronage Assistance to Military Units — a legal initiative created in the first months of the full-scale invasion so that communities could directly and quickly cover the needs of units, without waiting for tenders and bureaucracy. The idea was to shorten the path from the budget to the trenches.
In the case of Seversko-Donetsk, the same scheme became a cover for withdrawing funds.
According to the investigation, officials of the local military administration, together with the leadership of the CP, actually simulated the supply of defense equipment. For specific "needs of the military unit", they drew up letters of inquiry, instantly received a "commercial offer" from a predetermined supplier, signed a contract and immediately drew up an acceptance certificate. Ready-made contracts appeared in Prozorro - without advertisements, without competition, without market comparison. On paper - perfect. At the front - empty.
In April 2024, the Severodonetsk Trolleybus Administration purchased (according to documents) 20 multi-channel electronic warfare stations “to counter FPV drones” for the amount of UAH 2 million 960 thousand. In July, another contract was concluded — for 150 FPV drones and three ground control stations with a total cost of UAH 2 million 574 thousand. In total, UAH 5.53 million. The purchases themselves were announced as an “urgent defense necessity,” that is, without open bidding.
Then the second level of the scheme was activated. The funds were transferred to the accounts of selected private companies, after which they were "pumped" through a number of related individual entrepreneurs, converted into cash and distributed among the participants. According to the investigation, these documents - contracts, invoices, acceptance certificates, "responsible storage" agreements - had one goal: to create the illusion that the equipment supposedly exists and has already been transferred to the military.
A pre-trial investigation has been opened under Part 4 and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation or embezzlement of property in particularly large amounts, including in a prior conspiracy by a group of persons. The maximum sanction under these articles is up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property and a ban on holding office. That is, the BEB investigators are already qualifying the story not as “managerial negligence,” but as an organized withdrawal of budget funds during the war.
Who supplied the "drones"?
The key performers were two companies that formally have no relation to the production or supply of military equipment.
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LLC "Industrial Group A.S.D." received a contract for the supply of 150 FPV drones and three ground control stations for the amount of about 2.57 million UAH. On paper, the company deals with workwear, furniture, wood, office equipment, metals - the list of activities is scattered from textiles to chemistry. In open registers, the company appears in criminal proceedings under Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("embezzlement of property"), has repeatedly changed management and is registered at the address of mass registration, where there are dozens of other companies. The current owner and director is called Dmitry Dobrovolsky from Zaporizhzhia. Previously, the beneficiary was Maxim Karpov.
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LLC “NVO “Metalit”” received an order for 20 multi-channel electronic warfare stations worth almost UAH 2.96 million. This company formally sells household goods, deals with building materials, furniture, and small contracts — from installing handrails to supplying microphones and loudspeakers. It is also involved in criminal proceedings for embezzlement of property and has also changed owners and directors in an accelerated manner: it is currently managed by Oleksandr Latii, a native of Zaporizhzhia.
Both companies are connected through the same person — Maxim Karpov. He appears as a former beneficiary of the "Industrial Group A.S.D." and at the same time as the head of "Metalit" in previous periods. Such a "roll call" of management looks like a sign of a controlled network of companies through which it is possible to service schemes with a budget: today — "work clothes", tomorrow — "EW systems for the front."
Why this case is important not only for Luhansk region
First, the scale. This is not a single dubious contract for a few hundred thousand hryvnias, but over 5.5 million hryvnias of “defense” in the frontline region, where every working FPV drone is a life saved on the position. This is money that was supposed to turn into eyes and weapons for assault groups, not cash in the pockets of local “war managers.”
Secondly, the model. The patronage assistance program for military units was created as a tool for rapid support of the army without bureaucracy. But the lack of open bidding, minimal control, and the ability to conduct purchases through utility companies turn it into an ideal channel for proven schemes. In the case of Seversko-Donetsk, we see typical markers of a corruption network: fictitious supplies, shell companies with a dozen random KVEDs, “coincidences” in management, cashing out funds through controlled individual entrepreneurs. This is not a random failure – it is a business model.
Third, repetition. The same companies appear not only in "drone" contracts. Journalists remind us: after the agreements on FPV and electronic warfare, "Promyslova Grupa A.S.D." and "Metalit" began to receive other budget contracts from structures associated with the Severodonetsk community - for example, from "Severodonetsk Water Canal" (contracts for more than 2 million UAH) and KNP "Severodonetsk City Multi-Profile Hospital" (even "information services"). This indicates that we are not talking about a one-time deal "for the front", but about an extensive network of recipients of budget money.
The investigation is ongoing. The BEB and the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office are working under the article on embezzlement on a particularly large scale, which provides for up to 12 years in prison with confiscation. Detectives have not yet publicly named the names of specific individuals involved, but they note that officials of the local military administration, the management of a utility company, and directors of supplier companies were involved in the scheme.
An important aspect is that defense funds were being pulled out to the rear, while the Defense Forces during this period massively requested FPV drones and electronic warfare stations as a critical tool on the front lines. So the story is not just about “economic crimes,” but literally about the fact that some of the weapons declared for the army existed only in the form of signed acts.
This is not about bureaucracy. This is about living from scratch.
