Oleksii Kuznietsov, an MP from the Servant of the People party, Serhii Haidai, Head of Mukachevo District State Administration in Zakarpattia Oblast and former head of Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, and Andrii Yurchenko, Head of Rubizhne City Military Administration in Luhansk Oblast, are among those who have been exposed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) as having been involved in large-scale corruption.

Oleksii Kuznietsov, an MP from the Servant of the People party, Serhii Haidai, Head of Mukachevo District State Administration in Zakarpattia Oblast and former head of Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, and Andrii Yurchenko, Head of Rubizhne City Military Administration in Luhansk Oblast, are among those who have been exposed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) as having been involved in large-scale corruption.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement agencies

Details: Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that Kuznietsov, Haidai and the other individuals concerned have been detained.

The sources said that in the second half of 2024, NABU compiled information from various open and covert sources, including media outlets, that indicated that some public officials were engaged in the systemic embezzlement of state funds and large-scale bribery during state defence procurement processes. These schemes resulted in low-quality equipment, including UAVs, being produced, significantly undermining the defence capability and safety of Ukraine’s military.

Undercover NABU units infiltrated the organised criminal group and exposed the criminal activities being carried out with the involvement of MP Oleksii Kuznietsov, several heads of regional and local authorities, military unit commanders and a division of the National Guard of Ukraine. Working with defence suppliers, they systematically misappropriated funds allocated by local authorities to support defence forces.

The pre-trial investigation has established that in late 2024 and early 2025, MP Oleksii Kuznietsov, using his official position and influence over certain National Guard commanders, and acting in collusion with Serhii Haidai, had developed a regular scheme to misappropriate budget funds and offer/receive bribes from local government officials, military commanders and other individuals in the course of defence procurement.

The investigation into one criminal case determined that on 2 August 2025, Kuznietsov, in collusion with Yurchenko, a National Guard official and Haidai, had received a substantial unlawful benefit of UAH 1.5 million (approx. US$35,900) for arranging the signing of a government contract between military unit 3082 and the company Yuvitek for the supply of Yastruby Peremohy 6D electronic warfare systems worth UAH 5 million (US$119,660).

The bribe was distributed as follows: Kuznietsov, Yurchenko and a representative of the manufacturer each received UAH 350,000 (US$8,375); a military unit commander known as Myshanskyi received UAH 250,000 (US$5,984); and Haidai and the National Guard official received UAH 100,000 (US$2,393) each, with their shares being passed on through Kuznietsov.

In addition, during the investigation, further evidence emerged implicating Kuznietsov in another serious criminal offence. In this case, he acted in collusion with Yurchenko, the National Guard official, Haidai, representatives of Akopters LLC and other members of the group to secure the signing of a state contract between National Guard unit 3018 and Akopters for the production and supply of first-person view (FPV) drones worth UAH 9,968 million (US$238,573) – a sum that had been knowingly inflated. After the contract had been fulfilled and the funds transferred to Akopters’ account, the company’s representatives handed over Kuznietsov’s share of the illegally obtained money, part of which he then passed on to other group members. The total amount embezzled through this contract was US$43,000 and the inflated cost of the FPV drones was approximately US$80,000.

For reference: Kuznietsov was one of the MPs who on 22 July voted in favour of the controversial draft law No. 12414, which contained amendments intended to deprive Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption institutions of their autonomy and bring them under the prosecutor general’s control.

Background:

Earlier on 2 August, following a report from NABU director Semen Kryvonos and SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a corrupt MP, several heads of local government and members of the National Guard had been caught accepting bribes.NABU and SAPO announced that they have exposed an MP, several heads of local government and service members from the National Guard as having been involved in bribery in relation to the procurement of drones and electronic warfare equipment. The scheme involved entering into state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices.

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