Prosecutors of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office of the Office of the Prosecutor General have submitted an indictment to the court against the former head of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the head of a state enterprise.

They entered into a contract for the purchase of 400 machine guns; however, part of the delivered weapons did not meet the contract requirements and was unfit for use.

The actions of the mentioned individuals resulted in losses to the state amounting to nearly 187 million UAH and created conditions that hindered the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period. The enterprise later returned part of the funds to the state.

“The illegal actions of the officials led to the possibility that machine guns that did not meet the requirements for conducting combat operations could reach the front, posing a threat to the lives and health of the soldiers themselves. We consider any abuse that endangers the lives of military personnel unacceptable,” the prosecutor in the case noted.

The actions of the officials have been qualified under part 5 of Article 191, part 2 of Article 114-1, and part 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely embezzlement and misappropriation of property, and obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, an investigation is ongoing into a criminal proceeding regarding the suspicion of the aforementioned former official of the Ministry of Defense in supplying the Armed Forces with unfit anti-tank missile systems worth 90 million UAH.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.