Ukraine, senior Air Force and SBU officials arrested for corruption

Kyiv, 25 Feb. (LaPresse) – Senior officials of the Ukrainian Air Force and the Security Service (SBU) have been arrested for corruption. This was reported by Rbc-Ukraine, citing a statement from the SBU and law enforcement sources. The Security Service reported that the logistics commander of the Ukrainian Air Force and the head of the SBU in the Zhytomyr region were charged with corruption during the construction of aircraft shelters. Sources from Rbc-Ukraine revealed that the officials involved are Colonel Andriy Ukrainets, logistics commander of the Air Force Command, and Colonel Volodymyr Kompanychenko, head of the SBU office in Zhytomyr region. According to the documents, in May last year, 1.4 billion hryvnias were allocated for the construction of prefabricated arch structures. Inspections revealed serious violations, including non-compliance of the projects with safety standards, shelters not providing adequate protection for aviation, and significantly inflated construction costs. To conceal the theft of public funds and halt the investigation, the logistics commander contacted the head of the SBU in Zhytomyr to “ensure” the involvement of the military counterintelligence leadership. The latter agreed and offered to act as a “guarantor” of the arrangement. According to the investigation, to avoid liability and cover up the misuse of public funds, the officials proposed transferring about 13 million hryvnias. They also planned to involve “loyal auditors” who would produce false reports on the quality of the construction work.