Instead of a souvenir — confiscation: in Lviv, a Frenchman was convicted for attempting to export a military drone "Vyriy"

Instead of a souvenir — confiscation: in Lviv, a Frenchman was convicted for attempting to export a military drone "Vyriy"

The Halytskyi District Court of Lviv held a French citizen accountable for attempting to export a Ukrainian-made drone from Ukraine without the necessary permits.

This became known from the court ruling dated January 22, 2026, in case No. 461/297/26.

Details of the Incident

The incident occurred on September 11, 2025, at the railway checkpoint "Mostyska." During the customs inspection of the train on the "Kyiv — Przemyśl" route, customs officers found an FPV drone among the personal belongings of a passenger — a French citizen — in carriage No. 24.

The foreigner chose the "green corridor" for customs clearance, thereby declaring that he had no goods subject to restrictions or prohibitions.

Expert Analysis: Drone Classified as Military

To verify the legality of exporting the device, Lviv Customs sent the drone for examination to the Specialized Laboratory of the State Customs Service.

Experts determined that the device is an FPV UAV of the "Vyriy" model, manufactured by the Ukrainian company of the same name. According to their findings, the drone exhibits characteristics of equipment specifically designed for military purposes. Under current legislation, the export of such goods is permitted only with a license from the State Export Control Service of Ukraine, which the French citizen did not possess.

Court Decision

The court found the foreigner guilty of violating customs regulations (Part 3 of Article 471 of the Customs Code of Ukraine — failure to declare goods subject to established restrictions).

According to the ruling: