The SSU has eliminated another threat to our state defence capabilities, in particular, a scheme of appropriating components for combat aircraft at one of the state enterprises in Odesa.

The offenders tried to illegally sell a batch of spare parts for aircraft engines worth over UAH 10 mln (USD 280,000).

Due to the SSU’s prompt response, over half a thousand items have been returned to the state, which is enough to repair dozens of military aircraft.

The scheme was organized by the management of the state enterprise. Officials ‘wrote off’ components as unusable and stored them at the plant.

Then they tried to ‘withdraw’ the stolen goods through a fictitious purchase procedure under the guise of purchasing new spare parts and units.

For this purpose, affiliated commercial entities were used and inaccurate information was entered into reporting documentation.

The organizers of the scheme are going to be notified of suspicion. The court is to choose the measure of restraint.

In Zhytomyr region:

Due to the SSU’s efforts, court seized the assets of Russian and Belarusian mining and quarrying companies worth over UAH 30 mln (USD 840,000). The end beneficiaries of both companies are representatives of the kremlin’s businesses, which participated in financing russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

Using Ukrainian subsoil, they earned millions of profits for the occupiers from sale and export of raw materials and finished products.

So far, over 40 units of special equipment and locomotives have been seized, as well as the entire property complex of the Belarusian company.

The decision to hand over the blocked assets to the National Agency for Detection, Tracing and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) is pending.

In Transcarpathia:

the SSU Military Counterintelligence has dismantled a criminal group that organized a channel to smuggle men of call-up age across the state border of Ukraine.

The fraudsters offered them to go to one of the European countries illegally, using forged documents of volunteers.

They planned to get up to USD 15,000 from each client for their ‘services’.

The SSU detained the organizers at the international checkpoint and at the place of residence when they received UAH 2 mln (USD 60,000) for transporting a group of pseudo-volunteers.

The organizers and three of their accomplices have been notified of suspicion. The court has chosen detention as a measure of restraint.

In Poltava region:

Following an investigation by the SSU, 9 militants of the so-called ‘DNR’ who fought against Ukraine were sentenced to 15 years in prison. The militants were detained during liberation of Kharkiv region.

They joined illegal armed groups in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region at the beginning of russia’s full-scale aggression. Having received weapons and russian military uniform, the militants were sent to Kharkiv region as part of russian occupying forces.

There, they took part in hostilities against Ukrainian troops, including standing guard at enemy checkpoints and setting up positions for aggressors.

The court found the perpetrators guilty of treason and participation in illegal armed groups.

The SSU will continue to expose and prosecute all those guilty of crimes against our state.