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A preventive measure was chosen for a National Guard colonel in a corruption case involving the purchase of UAVs and EW equipment

Author:
Iryna Perepechko
Date:

On August 5, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) imposed a preventive measure on National Guard Colonel Vasyl Myshansky — he appears in a case of corruption in the procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare equipment.

A correspondent for Suspilne reports this from the courtroom.

Vasyl Myshansky will be held in custody until September 30 or he can be released on bail of UAH 2 million.

The SAPO prosecutor says that the commander of the military unit Myshansky allegedly received UAH 250 000 in remuneration for the purchase of more expensive radar systems from a private enterprise.

According to the investigation, the serviceman had a connection with the former head of the Rubizhna Regional Military Administration (RMA) Andriy Yurchenko, who is also involved in the case. This was confirmed by Myshansky himself.

"I havenʼt seen him since we graduated as cadets. I knew that he became the head of the Rubizhne military administration, I know that he used to help my military unit. When he became a commander, I crossed paths with him and said: ʼIf you can, give me some subsidy so that I can improve my defense capabilities.ʼ He agreed," the colonel said.

According to him, when he was transferred to the combat brigade, there were not enough drones and there were no electronic warfare systems at all. And the aforementioned Yurchenko introduced the suspect to the MP from the "Servant of the People" party Oleksiy Kuznetsov, who also promised to help.

The suspect says that the subsidy was allocated at the beginning of the year, but for a long time they could not find the necessary equipment that would meet the standards. They purchased it last month.

Myshansky says that a representative of one of the private enterprises Dorofeev approached him with various proposals, and the last proposal for radar systems met all the criteria — the price too. After signing the contract, Myshansky was invited to a joint lunch.

"Dorofeev invited me to dinner on August 2. Kuznetsov was there, I didnʼt even know he was coming. He handed me a package, I hid it in my bag. I thought it was because we agreed to buy either a car or Starlink," says Myshansky.

When he left the institution, he was detained by officers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

What preceded

On August 2, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO) reported the discovery of a deal to purchase drones and electronic warfare equipment.

According to law enforcement officials, a sitting MP, heads of district and city military administrations, and National Guard soldiers were caught taking bribes. The defendants concluded state contracts with suppliers at deliberately inflated prices — up to 30% of the contract amount was returned to the businessmen, say the Bureauʼs employees. The commander of the National Guard removed from their positions the defendants in the NABU and SAPO corruption case.

The next day, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Serhii Haidai from the post of head of the Mukachevo Regional State Administration, and Andriy Yurchenko from the post of head of the Rubizhna Regional State Administration.

On August 4, law enforcement officers reported suspicions to six participants in the scheme. They are:

On the same day, the Supreme Court of Ukraine remanded Oleksiy Kuznetsov, a member of parliament from the “Servant of the People” party, in custody for 60 days. His bail was set at UAH 8 million.

The former head of the Luhansk RSA Serhii Haidai and the owner of a drone production company Vladyslav Marchenko will be detained for the same period, with bail set at UAH 10 and 15 million, respectively.

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