Ukraine has uncovered a criminal scheme embezzling substantial funds from the army, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has reported. According to the investigation, about $1.6 million was spent during food procurement for the military between 2022 and 2024.
Criminals put contract difference in their pockets
Suppliers then forged manufacturer quality declarations and combined quality products with expired or completely unfit-for-consumption items in single ration kits delivered to Ukrainian military units. The difference between contracted and actual costs was split among participants in the scheme.
The former head of the Defense Ministry's Department of State Procurement and three heads of affiliated commercial structures have been notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code.
It covers especially large-scale embezzlement or appropriation committed by an organized group through abuse of office, with penalties of up to 12 years in prison plus property confiscation.
Low-quality dry rations worth $1.41 million
Two suppliers of daily field rations established the operation during the war, according to Kravchenko. The director and deputy of an LLC ensured the delivery of low-quality dry rations worth $1.41 million to military units. Meanwhile, the head of another company supplied an additional $194,000.
"When concluding contracts with the businesses, the official 'forgot' to include a clause on mandatory product quality checks, so the low-quality products reached the military without hindrance," Kravchenko said.
The SBU added that the products delivered after state funds were credited to contractors' accounts did not meet Ukrainian state standards (DSTU) or the established food-supply norms for soldiers. Searches at the suspects' locations recovered smartphones, computer equipment, and documentation cited as evidence.
Where does this fit?
This case is one in a documented, sustained sequence of Ukrainian defense procurement corruption exposures over the past two years.
In April 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) uncovered a scheme worth nearly $16.6 million, roughly ten times larger. The case involved Defense Ministry food procurement, a former department head, and supplier companies.
Today's case is smaller in sum than several of the schemes exposed earlier in the same procurement cycle. The reforms now in progress under Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, including the migration of non-lethal supplies to the Prozorro tender system.
