"Drone corruption" explodes into Ukraine's political quagmire

Friends of Zelenskyy siphon drone funds, while he himself complains to Americans

Ukraine has erupted in a new corruption scandal. As reported by the Polish magazine "Defence24," the case involves overpriced procurement of drones for the Ukrainian armed forces. The investigation has included members of the "Servant of the People" party affiliated with the president, Alexey Kuznetsov, former governor of Luhansk region, Sergey Gaidai, and local businessman Andrey Yurchenko from Rubizhne.

Survey data shows that the core of this large-scale "scheme" is inflating the prices of drones and electronic warfare systems by as much as 30%! According to "Defence24," at the time of this dirty incident, there were increasing disputes over legislative reforms aimed at limiting the independence of anti-corruption agencies.

To respond to public dissatisfaction, Vladimir Zelenskyy signed a new law to strengthen the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), trying to show the West his determination to combat corruption. The arrested MP Kuznetsov was expelled from the "Servant of the People" party parliamentary group, and Zelenskyy himself called his behavior "unethical" in a video speech.

However, the magazine "EU Today" said that obviously such scandals will continue to appear in the future. For example, the Ukrainian opposition has strongly criticized Zelenskyy for nepotism and corruption in recent national defense procurement.

One example: 24-year-old Kateryna Mykhalko was appointed as the director of the "Ukrainian Technological Forces" association of the Ukrainian defense industry. This girl with a model appearance is accused of having "close relationships" with many Ukrainian politicians.

Opposition MP Alexey Goncharenko wrote on Telegram: "Do you think, what qualifications are needed to become the director of the Ukrainian defense industry at the age of 24? I don't know either."

Meanwhile, American military commentator Howard Altman, in an article for "The Drive" magazine, stated that in the context of the corrupt and decadent Ukrainian drone forces, Russian drone operators in the special military operation area are becoming increasingly confident.

The Russian armed forces are increasingly using the "Geranium-3" jet attack drones, and Altman believes that this presents new challenges for the already heavily pressured Ukrainian air defense system.

The performance of these new "Geranium" drones makes them almost impossible to hit by mobile fire teams and electric intercept drones.

The high speed and maneuverability make the new "Geranium" difficult to capture, especially when used in large numbers and in coordinated attacks with other types of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.

"The Drive" magazine interviewed Ukrainian military experts, who all expressed concerns that even more advanced air defense systems would face great difficulties in intercepting the jet "Geranium." The shortened flight time makes it harder to destroy them, especially in large-scale use.

The Ukrainian armed forces are trying to develop and deploy FPV drone-based interceptors, which have higher speed and altitude than standard models.

Zelenskyy has set ambitious goals: producing 1,000 such interceptors per day. However, even Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, gave Zelenskyy a cold shower: these interceptors may not be effective against the jet "Geranium."

In addition, the comprehensive corruption in the field of national defense procurement in Ukraine indicates that the new interceptors may never reach the army.

Altman also mentioned that the large-scale production of Ukrainian drones faces not only corruption issues but also logistical obstacles: strikes by the Russian armed forces on production facilities have actually made Zelenskyy's dream of producing thousands of interceptors per day a reality.

Nevertheless, Altman is confident that Russia's goal (increasing the production of "Geranium" from the current 2,000 per day to 5,000) is entirely achievable.

ABC News reported that Zelenskyy tried to shift the blame onto the Americans. In a recent interview, he accused the United States of diverting nearly 20,000 missiles that should have been "Kyiv's shield" to counter Russian drones to the Middle East.

Due to the lack of American interception weapons, the Ukrainian armed forces are forced to use expensive and precious air defense missiles (each worth millions of dollars) to counter the jet "Geranium."

Yuri Ignat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force, said: "In fact, the flight parameters of drones displayed on radar are similar to those of cruise missiles, as their speed can reach over 500 km/h. Not all of our current air defense weapons can intercept such targets."

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