Video: Senior Air Force Official Faces New Charges in Case Involving Billions in Embezzlement
A Ukrainian Air Force officer, who had previously been notified of his status as a suspect in a case involving the embezzlement of over 1 billion hryvnias in budget funds, has been charged with a new offense. This time, law enforcement authorities are accusing him of illicit enrichment amounting to tens of millions of hryvnias.
The suspect is the former logistics commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, who was already notified in February that he was a suspect in a case involving the embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the construction of aviation defense facilities.
The Prosecutor General has not disclosed the suspect’s name, but according to RBC-Ukraine sources, the individual in question is Colonel Andriy Ukraintsev.
The investigation has now uncovered new details. Today, he was notified of a new charge—illegal enrichment.
According to the investigation, between 2020 and 2025, the military officer acquired property worth at least 20 million hryvnias more than his legal income.
According to investigators, the following were registered through close associates:
- six apartments in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, and Zhytomyr;
- three residential houses in the Zhytomyr region;
- an apartment in Bukovel;
- six land plots;
- four cars, including an Audi Q7 and an Audi Q5;
- garages and other non-residential premises.
The property was registered in the names of the suspect’s parents, son, live-in partner, and godfather. Despite this, according to the investigation, the lieutenant colonel himself remained the actual owner and controller of the assets.
The investigation did not identify any legitimate sources of income that could explain the acquisition of these assets.
Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, he was notified of the charges against him under Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
He was also served with a motion to impose a preventive measure in the form of pretrial detention, with the alternative of posting bail in excess of 21 million hryvnias.
“The defense sector is no place for personal enrichment—especially during wartime,” said Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy recently dismissed Stefanishyna from her post as Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted searches in connection with the case involving Stefanishyna’s possible illegal enrichment.
