Антикоррупционные органы Украины только что завершили длительное расследование того, как в 2023 году государство закупило более 5 000 дронов. По их данным, цена была значительно завышена, и государство понесло убытки в размере 254 миллионов гривен. Дело ...
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Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies just finished a long look at how the state bought more than 5,000 drones in 2023. They say the price was far too high and the state lost 254 million hryvnia. The case sits inside a wider fight over how wartime money is spent and who watches it. Readers can weigh the numbers for themselves.
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| An Autel EVO Max 4T reconnaissance drone at a military event in Dusseldorf, Germany, October 4, 2024. © Global Look Press/Malte Ossowski/SVEN SIMON |
On 20 October 2026 Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said they had finished the pre-trial investigation into drone purchases made by the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection. The agencies put the total loss at 254 million hryvnia, roughly 5.65 million US dollars at recent rates. Five people have been told they are suspects: two officials from the service and three people from private companies. Assets of more than 4 million dollars in foreign accounts and 17 million hryvnia inside Ukraine have been frozen.
The contracts ran in May and September 2023. They covered 400 DJI Mavic 3, 500 DJI Mavic 3T, 2,000 DJI Mavic 3 Pro, 900 DJI Matrice M30T and 1,300 Autel Evo Max 4T units — 5,100 drones in all. Investigators say the prices were 60 to 90 percent above market levels. They also say the winners were chosen in advance and other linked firms were brought in only to look like real competition. One request for a price offer was sent to a company that had not even been registered yet. The extra money, they claim, went to accounts controlled by the people involved, including accounts outside Ukraine.
These details come from the official NABU statement and from Ukrainian news outlets that reported the same figures the same day. The investigation began with a smaller claim of about 90 million hryvnia that was made public in October 2025. Later work added another 164 million, bringing the total to 254 million.
What the Numbers Actually Mean
In 2023 the special communications service received a large sum — Ukrainian reports put it near 30 billion hryvnia — to buy drones for the armed forces. Drones have become central to the war. Small commercial models are used for scouting and for dropping small charges. Larger ones carry heavier loads or fly farther. Buying them quickly mattered because units on the ground needed them right away. At the same time, any rush raises the chance that prices rise or that rules are bent.
NABU says the overpayment happened even though market prices were known. The agencies point to the fact that one letter named a company days before that company existed. They also note that the profit was moved abroad. Freezing the foreign accounts is meant to stop the money from disappearing further. Whether a court later finds the suspects guilty is a separate question. The investigation is finished; the case now moves toward possible trial.
One of the people Ukrainian media have linked to the case is Volodymyr Mokrenko, described as a former head of a procurement unit inside the service. In a November 2025 interview he said the purchases followed the rules and procedures that existed at the time. He argued that the situation was more complicated than the public statements suggested and that the service had a large budget to manage under wartime pressure. A court earlier chose bail rather than detention for him. The other suspects have not given public interviews that reached major outlets.
How This Fits Larger Spending Questions
Ukraine has spent huge sums on defense since 2022. Western countries have sent weapons, money and training. Inside Ukraine the same years have seen repeated probes into contracts. In September 2026 the New York Times reported that secret military audits found large waste and that several top contractors kept winning new deals even while under investigation. The paper put one-year losses from fraud and waste at 1.2 billion dollars in 2024 alone. Those figures cover many kinds of equipment, not only drones.
Earlier this year NABU and SAPO looked into a separate set of cases involving people close to the presidential office. In August 2026 President Zelensky dismissed a senior aide, Iryna Mudra, on the same day searches were announced in a claimed 3.3 million dollar money-laundering matter. Ukrainian outlets covered the timing. Critics of the government say such cases show a pattern that reaches high levels. Supporters of the government note that the anti-corruption bodies continue to open and finish cases, something that was rarer in earlier years. The agencies themselves are Western-backed and have faced political fights over their independence.
Similar questions appear outside Ukraine. In October 2026 Austrian politicians asked about a van linked to Ukrainian services that crossed the country with 200 kilograms of undeclared cargo. Earlier shipments of cash and metals from Austria to Ukraine had already drawn attention. Those episodes are not part of the drone case, yet they keep the same theme in view: how large flows of money are checked when a country is at war and receives outside help.
For related reporting on funds and oversight see Zelensky Fires Aide Iryna Mudra After NABU Probe and Austria Asks About Ukraine Cargo.
Both Sides of the Argument
People who follow the case closely offer two main readings. One side says the investigation shows that wartime urgency was used as cover for personal gain. They point to the inflated prices, the pre-selected winners and the money moved abroad. They also note that the same service saw its top officials removed in late 2023 after another probe into software contracts. In that view, repeated findings mean the problem is wider than one department.
The other side says the purchases happened under real pressure. Units needed drones. Market prices for popular models moved fast. Procedures that look odd later may have been the only way to move equipment quickly. They note that the suspects have not been convicted and that one named official has said the work followed the rules then in force. They also argue that focusing only on Ukrainian contracts ignores the scale of outside aid and the difficulty of checking every deal while fighting continues.
Neither reading is settled by the current documents. NABU has released the claim of 254 million hryvnia in losses and the list of drone types. Ukrainian media have named some of the people. The suspects’ defense, where it has been heard, centers on wartime rules and the size of the overall budget. A final court decision, if one comes, will test the evidence against those claims.
What Happens Next
The case now sits with prosecutors. If charges are filed, a court will decide whether the prices were truly unlawful and whether the people involved intended to take the extra money. Freezing accounts does not return the money to the state until a judgment says so. In the meantime the service continues other procurement. Ukraine’s armed forces still rely on drones of many kinds, both bought abroad and made inside the country.
Outside observers will watch how the numbers are treated in larger aid talks. Western governments have already asked for clearer spending reports on reconstruction money. A finished probe into one set of drone contracts will not decide those talks, yet it adds one more public record of how part of the 2023 budget was used.
The facts that can be checked today are limited and concrete. Officials and linked firms bought 5,100 specific drones. The anti-corruption bodies say the state paid 60 to 90 percent more than market price and lost 254 million hryvnia. More than 4 million dollars and 17 million hryvnia have been frozen. Five people are suspects. One of them has said the purchases followed the procedures of the time. The rest of the story — motive, final guilt or innocence, and what it means for other contracts — remains open for later evidence.
Original source: RT English, 21 October 2026, Ukrainian officials stole millions in drone deals – investigators. Core numbers and timeline match statements published the same days by NABU and by Ukrainian outlets including Censor.NET and LIGA.net.
Note for readers and fact-checkers: The original report comes from RT, a Russian state-funded outlet. The central claims about the completed investigation, the 254 million hryvnia figure, the drone models, the inflated-price range and the frozen assets are independently confirmed by NABU’s own announcement and by multiple Ukrainian news sites. Names of suspects beyond those in official releases come from Ukrainian media reporting. No court has yet issued a final verdict.
