Fortifications on paper: how corruption schemes behind the lines lead to enemy breakthroughs at the front

Fortifications on paper: how corruption schemes behind the lines lead to enemy breakthroughs at the front

On Friday, March 13, Ukraine was shaken by news of another large-scale embezzlement of funds for defensive fortifications. Law enforcement exposed a scheme operating in Dnipropetrovsk region — a region where Russians are already gradually advancing and full-scale combat operations are ongoing.

However, this did not prevent officials of one military unit led by a colonel and private companies that were «in on it» from organizing the purchase of materials for fortification construction at prices inflated by 20%. At first glance, such a markup doesn’t seem that significant. However, the investigation established the fact of embezzlement of as much as 14 million (!) hryvnias, and this is only for two episodes — meaning there may be far more cases.  This disgusting case is just one instance from a long list of similar crimes when money intended for the country’s defense ended up in the pockets of various people who profited from it. Let us recall that this is happening in a region where hundreds of square kilometers of territory are already occupied, and combat operations with the RF do not stop for a single day.  Journalists from the UA.News publication recall the TOP-5 loudest corruption scandals on fortifications that have exploded in the information space since 2022. 

And again Dnipropetrovsk region: «savings» on defense that turned into a strategic threat

It is not just the criminal proceedings that are telling, but the systemic managerial collapse in, once again, Dnipropetrovsk region, documented by military unit T0920 in April 2024.

While the regional military administration reported on the successful construction of fortifications and even «savings» of over 70 million hryvnias from the allocated 370 million, the military, on their side, recorded complete chaos. The appeal from military unit T0920 to the then head of the RMA, Serhiy Lysak, contained eight points of systemic problems: lack of coordination in supplies, due to which materials were lost or unloaded 20 km from the required location, ignoring military requests by officials, supply of defective concrete products that soldiers had to patch themselves with concrete mortar, and so on.

This formal «savings» of funds was actually achieved at the cost of shifting all expenses and risks onto the Armed Forces. The military had to solve logistical problems on their own, spend hours unloading materials instead of construction, and complete low-quality structures themselves.

As a result, the third line of defense in the region, which should have been capital and sturdy, turned into a «Potemkin village». Partly because of this, Russian troops gained the opportunity to break through towards Zaporizhzhya, deliberately bypassing the main lines of defense through the southern districts of Dnipropetrovsk region, which turned out to be completely unprotected.

The Poltava RMA case: «Enki Construction» and 17 million on Donetsk front

A large-scale and resonant investigation targeted officials of the Poltava Regional Military Administration. According to the investigation, in 2024-2025, officials in collusion with representatives of LLC «Enki Construction» and related companies «Domkom» and «Premium Active» embezzled over 17 million hryvnias during the construction of military strongpoints on Donetsk front. The total amount of contracts reached over 370 million hryvnias.

The scheme was classic: the cost of materials and work was deliberately inflated, and estimates included services that were not actually performed. The work was done by individuals and employees of municipal enterprises, who were paid in cash to avoid official accounting. In addition, the investigation established facts of bribes totaling at least 4 million hryvnias to RMA officials. The investigation of this case is still ongoing.

Kharkiv «goldmine»: ex-deputy mayor Rudenko and shell companies for 545 million

In Kharkiv, a loud scandal erupted around former deputy mayor Andriy Rudenko. Journalists from one of the anti-corruption projects exposed a scheme under which companies linked to this official received contracts for fortification construction worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias. According to the investigation, an organized group involved shell companies and sole proprietors who purchased materials at prices inflated by over 30% above market rates.

Although the defendants are currently charged with embezzling 5.5 million hryvnias, journalists insist that the amounts could be much larger. The Kharkiv RMA Housing and Communal Services Department alone signed contracts worth over 550 million hryvnias with LLC «Tech Incom» controlled by Rudenko. Rudenko himself, who was detained but later released, tried to justify himself by saying he only «created conditions for construction», not building directly.

By the way, similar stories in Kharkiv region are, unfortunately, not isolated.

Russian trace of a company owned by a Russian citizen and ex-wife of an FSB officer

Perhaps one of the most cynical cases concerns companies «PVK Arsenal» and «Kharkiv Precast Concrete Structures», which in 2023-2024 received contracts for fortifications totaling over 300 million hryvnias from the same military units. The investigation revealed that these firms are linked to the family of Yuliya Neyman — a Russian citizen whose close circle is tightly connected to the RF.

According to the investigation, these companies inflated prices for structures by astronomical 50-100%, and over 40% of the total funding was converted to cash. The firms themselves have no production capacity or equipment, and only a few people work there, which is a classic sign of fictitious «shells».

What is most outrageous in this situation is that Neyman’s husband, according to journalists, has ties to former FSB members, and their common son is a Russian citizen connected to Russian offshore companies.

Zaporizhzhya «dragon’s teeth»: price inflation by 6.4 million

Last year, investigative journalists and law enforcement exposed a scheme for embezzling funds during fortification construction in Zaporizhzhya region. Officials of the Melitopol RMA in collusion with private entities (including LLC «Melsiti» and «AKVI-BUD») inflated the cost of materials and equipment. The amount of losses is currently estimated at over 6.4 million hryvnias.

Interestingly, the head of Zaporizhzhya RMA, Ivan Fedorov, acknowledged the hype in the construction materials market but emphasized that all work was carried out under the control of law enforcement, and prices for «dragon’s teeth» (anti-tank concrete pyramids) were allegedly among the lowest in the country. Despite this, law enforcement continues investigating inflated prices and the distribution of contracts among «related» companies.

Corruption in defence — this is marauding

It should not be forgotten that each of these scandals is not just numbers of losses in criminal proceedings. Behind the inflated estimates, «fake» companies, and kickbacks to the administration stand unfinished bunkers, missing «dragon’s teeth», and earthen embankments instead of concrete fortifications that do not withstand enemy shelling at all. The story with Dnipropetrovsk RMA is particularly telling: there they didn’t even manage to steal all the money — they just «saved» it, leaving the army alone with defective concrete and poor logistics.

In conditions of full-scale war, stealing money intended for the country’s defense is nothing other than marauding. This is a crime not against an abstract budget where no one will feel or see it, but directly against every soldier who, due to the lack of quality fortifications, ends up under enemy fire, gets injured, and dies. And although law enforcement opens cases and courts seize property, society is waiting not for loud statements and, later, the complete draining of the case, but for the inevitability of punishment for all involved: from small contractors to high-ranking officials who cover these schemes.

The fish always rots from the head — a simple but no less true folk wisdom. The lack of a strategic defense plan, constant rotations of leadership instead of real investigations and punishments of those involved, and the priority of paper reports over work quality — all this creates conditions under which the squandering of state funds leads to lost territories and, which is far worse, human lives.