Embezzlement of UAH 246 million from "Dzvin" system: NABU has completed its investigation
Anti-corruption authorities have completed their investigation into the case of multi-million dollar abuses during the development of the automated system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Operational Command Centre "DZVIN".
This was reported by the press service of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), according to Censor.NET.
What is known?
Among the suspects:
- former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General (Radion Tymoshenko);
- former Chief of Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General (Volodymyr Rapko);
- former Head of the Automation Development Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel (Viktor Artykhovych);
- director of a private company – chief contractor (Yurii Pastukhov).
According to the investigation, in 2016, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract for the development of the system with a commercial company that had no experience in software development.
"Over four years of development, the technical specifications were changed 13 times, which increased the cost of the work by 300 million hryvnia. Without justification, the number of prototypes of the system was increased from 4 to 11, which resulted in additional costs for adjusting the documentation – 115 million hryvnias," the statement said.
At the same time, the NABU noted that the developed system did not meet the technical specifications at all: from incompatibility with NATO protocols to the lack of integration with other military systems.
"Moreover, some of the software is not used at all. Of the 200 information and calculation tasks set, only 10 were actually implemented.
During the investigation, detectives and prosecutors encountered attempts to obstruct the investigation: individuals involved in the scheme began to conceal key documentation related to the financing and development of the project. Also, after the investigation began, they sped up their work and even upgraded the system free of charge, trying to make it more similar to the original concept," the Bureau noted.
At the end of 2022, the "Dzvin" system was officially adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"And in 2024, instead of eliminating the shortcomings or abandoning the ineffective solution, additional funding was planned for 'DZVIN'. This may indicate attempts not only to conceal previous corruption abuses, but also to continue them," they added.
Development of the "Dzvin" system
As a reminder, in March 2021, journalists reported that in 2016, the military ordered Everest Limited to develop a command and control system for the Armed Forces. The development took 4 years and UAH 600 million of budget funds. However, the audit found so many shortcomings and problems in the Dzvin project, as the system was called, that its implementation in the army may be inappropriate and impossible.
Later, the Ministry of Defence said that after the audit, funding for the Dzvin army management system had been suspended. The National Security and Defence Council held a meeting on the Dzvin system, where they discussed its acceptance into trial operation in one of the Armed Forces' military units for evaluation.
Servicemen of the former A2724 military unit (Aerial Intelligence) are convinced that the development of the Dzvin command and control system does not bring Ukraine any closer to NATO integration, and their unit was disbanded so that they could not speak about it.
However, in December 2022, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov ordered the Armed Forces of Ukraine to adopt the Dzvin strategic-level automated command and control system, which is being investigated by the NABU.
On 7 February 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court was to choose a preventive measure for General Rodion Tymoshenko, former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the case of embezzlement of budget funds during the creation of the automated system of the Armed Forces Operational Command Centre "DZVIN", but the defence requested a recusal, so the case was adjourned.
On 4 March 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for the former head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's communications troops, Volodymyr Rapko, who is suspected of embezzling budget funds during the creation of the "DZVIN" system.
On 11 March, the High Anti-Corruption Court set bail at UAH 2 million for Viktor Artykhovych, former head of the Automation Development Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
