Over $1 million stolen in fake Ukrainian demining scheme

Ukrainian authorities have uncovered a scheme in which the director of a company and the head of a demining team embezzled over $1.3 million through fake demining operations, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported on his Telegram channel.

“In Kyiv, charges have been filed against the company director and the head of the demining team, who, through a network of controlled firms, won tenders for land clearance,” Kravchenko wrote.

The fraudulent operations were allegedly conducted in areas of Kherson Oblast, despite the land being already safe and in use by local farmers. Investigators say the suspects staged work by digging up soil, planting objects resembling explosives, and submitting false documentation. The losses from this case alone are estimated at 6.3 million hryvnias (approximately $144,000).

Authorities are also examining similar incidents in Mykolaiv and Chernihiv Oblasts, covering over 600 hectares of land, which could have resulted in losses exceeding 53 million hryvnias (around $1.2 million).

This scandal adds to a series of corruption cases in Ukraine’s defence sector. Earlier, a commander of a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit, together with two civilians, reportedly misappropriated and sold 343 drones online for a total of $346,000.

By Vafa Guliyeva