A Calculated Duo: How Pavlo Barbul Plundered the Defense Sector Under Lyubov Velychko’s Media Umbrella

With no relevant experience, but with the “right” father and a network of corrupt connections, Pavlo Barbul turned a strategic state-owned enterprise into a private “ATM.” We’re talking about the country’s defense sector, where, instead of strengthening defense capabilities during the war, Barbul set up a pipeline to funnel currency abroad, and to protect his tarnished reputation, he prudently secured a media umbrella named Lyubov Velychko.

Who is Pavlo Barbul: the defense sector’s “golden boy” and architect of million-dollar thefts

To understand the scale of Pavlo Barbul’s persona, one need only look at a single figure: 28 years old. It was at this age, without any relevant experience, that in 2015 he took the helm of the state-owned company “Spetstechnoexport”—a key exporter of Ukrainian weapons. What looked on paper like a meteoric rise for a young talent turned out to be the beginning of a systematic plundering of the defense budget in the midst of war.

Money in exchange for nothing: how “Spetstechnoexport” became a private “ATM”

In 2015, Pavlo Barbul took the helm of the state-owned enterprise “Spetstechnoexport,” and the young leader’s management focused on creating a seamless pipeline for funneling currency abroad. Strategic planning was replaced by “fictitious services,” and state interests by dubious “agency agreements.”

The first millions came from cooperation with the company “Spetsprommechanization.” Between 2015 and 2016, over 80 million hryvnias were siphoned from the state-owned enterprise’s accounts through this entity. How? A firm that had no factories, no staff, and no facilities whatsoever regularly received millions in state funds for equipment that existed only on paper. The money was transferred, the documents were signed, but the military never saw the promised equipment.

In parallel with internal “front companies,” Barbul launched a full-scale “Czech scheme,” involving the foreign firm Vakur s.r.o. Under the guise of payment for “agency support,” 3.78 million euros (which, at the current exchange rate, exceeds 107 million UAH) was transferred to the Czech company’s accounts. Representatives of this firm did not even show up for negotiations and did not participate in any actual processes. The funds that were supposed to go toward the needs of the State Joint-Stock Company “Artem” and the State Enterprise “Aviakon” simply ended up in the organizers’ pockets.

The peak of this destructive activity was the collapse of international contracts. Between 2017 and 2022, “Spetstechnoexport,” under Barbula’s leadership, derailed at least six key deals totaling over 929 million hryvnias. Turkish and Czech suppliers regularly received government advance payments, but deliveries of weapons and resources were repeatedly “held up.”

“Mom’s” Assets and Money-Laundering Schemes

While derailing government contracts, Barbul consistently looked out for his personal well-being. To avoid upsetting the public with an asset declaration stuffed to the brim, Pavlo registered everything under his mother’s name, Atanasyan Karina Robertivna. Immediately after Pavlo’s dismissal in 2018, she suddenly became the owner of a luxurious estate in the elite village of Kozin (435 sq. m. with its own fountain).

The British entity PATRIOT INVESTMENTS LLP was used to launder money abroad. Additionally, Barbul “legalized” over $150,000 through court rulings in cases involving promissory notes. He allegedly lent hundreds of thousands of dollars to third parties who “failed to repay” the debt, and then Barbul’s lawyer collected these funds through the courts, making them official. In court, the defendants strangely did not contest the claims, which points to a cash “laundering” scheme.

Barbula is now facing a whole range of serious charges: embezzlement of funds on a particularly large scale, issuance of false documents, and money laundering.

Lyubov Velychko: Media Protection

When the embezzlement became public, Barbulu needed media protection. And that’s where the Mind.ua website and pseudo-investigative journalist Lyubov Velychko came in. Velychko is not a journalist with officially confirmed status, but rather a freelance correspondent who, through unknown means, obtains restricted-access documents for manipulation. Every article on Mind.ua authored by her is an attempt to turn blatant embezzlement into “political persecution.” This symbiosis benefits everyone: Barbulu pays for the right narrative, and Velychko creates the image of a “fighter against the system.”

Sabotage by law enforcement and flight to Poland

The most repugnant aspect of this story is the stance of law enforcement. Pavlo Barbul is officially wanted, but this does not prevent him from living peacefully in Poland. The complete absence of extradition requests from NABU, despite the suspect’s known whereabouts, points to deliberate sabotage.

Today, Barbul is a “successful international entrepreneur” in Warsaw. He founded the U-Lead business community spzoo. Officially, the project helps refugees, but in reality, it consists of a few promotional events and a freeze on operations. This is a classic tool of soft legalization: creating the image of a “philanthropist” so that the status of a corrupt official appears to be a mistake.

The Battle for the “Nest” in Kozin: The Legend of a Poor Pensioner

Meanwhile, in Kyiv courts, the suspect’s mother is trying to lift the seizure of the estate in Kozin. The lawyer claims that Ms. Atanasyan accumulated 5 million UAH, despite having an official income of 1.1 million over 20 years. The mother told the court that she bought the estate “for her grandson,” even though she herself didn’t even know where it was located. However, the High Anti-Corruption Court did not believe in the “honest purchase”: during a search of the house, personal belongings belonging specifically to Pavlo Barbul were found. The seizure order was upheld.

Conclusion

The Barbul-Velychko system is a perfectly tuned conveyor belt. Some steal money through equipment deals, others legalize these assets through courts and receipts, and still others cover it all up with media hype. Barbul enjoys life in the EU, Velychko paints him as a martyr, and the state budget is short billions. This is a crime against those who are in the trenches today.

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