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Ukrainian Air Force officer detained over alleged $320,000 defense embezzlement

25 February 2026 17:25 (UTC +04:00)

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained an officer of the Air Forces of Ukraine on suspicion of embezzling funds intended for defense structures at airfields, APA reports citing RBC-Ukraine.

According to Member of Parliament Oleksiy Honcharenko, the individuals under investigation are Colonel Andriy Ukrainets, the head of the Air Forces logistics, and Colonel Volodymyr Kompanichenko, the head of the SBU directorate in Zhytomyr Oblast.

The case concerns a bribe of $320,000, which, according to Honcharenko, was embezzled during the implementation of defense structures projects for airfields. So far the Air Forces’ command and the SBU have not commented on the information.

According to the MP, the detention touched Colonel Andriy Ukrainets – the head of logistics for the Air Forces, and Colonel Volodymyr Kompanichenko – the head of the SBU directorate in Zhytomyr Oblast. Honcharenko did not name the source of the information, but stressed that the sums were related to defense.

Details of the investigation and the specific embezzlement scheme have not been disclosed yet. There has been no official confirmation from the DBR, the SBU, NABU, or the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Military journalist Andriy Tsapliyenko published a photo of the moment of the arrest of one of the suspects; in his post he mentions the bribery arrest, but the essence of the schemes has not been revealed.

Further updates promise to reveal details of the investigation and the roles of the suspects in the case.