Serhiy Haidai, a defendant in the corruption case involving the procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare equipment and the former head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration (RMA), reported that he had become a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
He wrote about this in his Telegram channel.
"Iʼm returning to the east. Now as a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," wrote Haidai.
He did not provide details.
The former leader of the Luhansk RMA was taken into custody for 60 days in August with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of UAH 10 million. At the court session on the appointment of a preventive measure for him, Haidai stated that “when this is all over”, he would go to the front.
A few days later, Haidai was released from the pre-trial detention center on bail, but remained under investigation.
In which case does Serhiy Haidai appear?
On August 2, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) 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. The commander of the National Guard suspended the defendants in the NABU and SAPO corruption case from their positions.
The next day, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Serhiy Haidai from the position of head of the Mukachevo Regional State Administration, and Andriy Yurchenko from the position of head of the Rubizhne Regional Administrative Organization.
On August 4, law enforcement officers reported suspicions to six participants in the scheme. They are:
- the former head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhiy Haidai;
- the MP from the "Servant of the People" Oleksiy Kuznetsov;
- the head of the Rubizhna City Military Administration Andriy Yurchenko;
- the commander of the National Guard military unit Vasyl Myshansky;
- Vladyslav Marchenko, owner of the drone production company "Acopters";
- the director of the same enterprise Yevhenia Sydelnykova.
On August 7, bail was posted for three suspects, namely Serhiy Haidai, Vasyl Myshansky, and Yevhenia Sydelnykova. In September, the MP Oleksiy Kuznetsov was released from custody.
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