The case involving the purchase of eggs at 17 hryvnias each for the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been referred to court

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have referred to court a case involving the alleged embezzlement of millions of hryvnias in food procurement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the full-scale war. This refers to the high-profile case involving eggs priced at 17 hryvnias each.

 

According to the investigation, the scheme was carried out in 2022–2023 during the procurement of food for the army in so-called “kits.” The approved catalog listed 409 items, but in reality, the most commonly used goods—such as vegetables, grains, meat, and water—accounted for only 10% of the assortment.

The remaining items—such as spices, gelatin, or berries—were ordered extremely rarely or not at all.

Because the price of a “set” was calculated based on the average cost of all items, suppliers manipulated the price tags, inflating them for high-demand products and deflating them for rarely used or seasonal items, such as cherries or apricots in winter.

As a result of these abuses, between August and December 2022, two supplier companies controlled by the same owner illegally obtained over 733 million UAH in excess profits. This was confirmed by the findings of a comprehensive product and economic analysis.

Part of this money was subsequently siphoned off through dividend payments and the provision of repayable financial assistance to affiliated companies. The funds obtained may have subsequently been used to purchase hotels in Croatia and other real estate, the legality of which is currently being investigated by law enforcement agencies.

An official from the Ministry of Defense was also involved in organizing the crime; during the signing of the contracts, he knowingly ignored obvious price anomalies in the catalogs.

Following the launch of a pretrial investigation in January 2023 and high-profile media scandals—particularly reports about the purchase of eggs at 17 hryvnias apiece—the participants in the scheme lowered the prices of the 11 most in-demand products.

As a result, 788 million hryvnias were saved from being embezzled from the state budget.

Source: NABU

In Zaporizhzhia, a case involving the embezzlement of over ₴14.5 million from fortification projects was referred to court.

Earlier, prosecutors from the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against the head of the Lviv City Council, her deputy, the acting head of the education department, and the deputy director of an enterprise for purchasing substandard coal for educational institutions, resulting in losses of nearly 2.3 million hryvnias. In addition, the city council chair is accused of receiving improper benefits from subordinates.

In Kyiv, the former head of the Education Department of the Solomyanskyi District State Administration will stand trial for the procurement of electricity for educational institutions, resulting in losses of over 5.4 million hryvnias. The pretrial investigation into the case has been completed, and the indictment has been submitted to the court.

In September 2025, the prosecutor’s office requested a warrant for the arrest of Olga Drozdova, head of the Education Department of the Dnipro District State Administration, who is accused in a case involving the purchase of vegetable cutters and chairs for shelters at inflated prices.