Pavlohrad Chemical Plant deliberately supplied over 233,000 defective mines, - Shvets, head of SSU’s Main Investigation Department
The investigation into the case of defective mines for the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been concluded.
This was stated by Andrii Shvets, head of the SSU’s Main Investigation Department, in an interview with Censor.NET.
Details
"The indictment against the former Director General of the state-owned enterprise Pavlohrad Chemical Plant and his deputy has been sent to court for consideration.
During the investigation into the criminal proceedings concerning obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was established that they deliberately supplied over 233,000 unusable mines. Specifically, 100,000 82-millimetre mortar rounds and nearly 133,000 120-millimetre mortar rounds, thereby causing losses to the state amounting to 3.3 billion hryvnias," he said.
According to Shvets, it has also been established that, among other things, the substandard and untimely supply of mortar rounds was carried out with the aim of obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"According to the forensic examination carried out, the use of the aforementioned gunpowder led to the unstable performance of the powder charge as a whole, and consequently – the inability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use the mortar rounds for their intended purpose.
In fact, aware of the missed delivery deadlines for the first batches of mines intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in August 2024 the CEO and his deputy forged a company order to halt production, allegedly due to damage caused by rocket and drone strikes from the aggressor country, which was untrue. Subsequently, the suspects used the forged order to obtain certificates from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and to extend the validity of state contracts concluded with the State Enterprise of the Ministry of Defence ‘Defence Procurement Agency’, which in turn allowed the State Enterprise ‘PChP’ to avoid incurring penalties under state contracts," he explained.
The investigation is also examining the possibility that the criminal offence was committed for financial gain.
"A pre-trial investigation is currently underway into the possible overpricing of certain brands of gunpowder manufactured by a US company and sold to a UK-based company," added Shvets.
During the investigation, investigators seized 480 120-millimetre rounds and 70 82-millimetre mortar rounds, which were subsequently sent for expert analysis.
"The mortar rounds returned after examination have been recognised as material evidence and placed in secure custody. A decision regarding the fate of this material evidence will be made by the court when the verdict is handed down in the case.
Meanwhile, on 20 November 2024, Command of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued an order prohibiting the release of 82 mortar rounds remaining in the army, and on 23 November 2024 – an order prohibiting the release of 120 mortar rounds remaining in the army.
Subsequently, the aforementioned products were returned to the manufacturer for a complaint to be lodged," concluded the head of the SSU’s Main Investigation Department.
Read the full text of the interview with Andrii Shvets for Censor.NET via link.
Case regarding the supply of defective mines to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
On 29 April 2025, the SSU detained the managers of a defence plant in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that had supplied defective mines to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On 30 April, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv remanded Mykhailo Shkurenko, a former head of one of the Ministry of Defence’s military representative offices, and Yurii Yaresko, head of the control group, in custody without the option of bail. The court also remanded Leonid Shyman, director of the Pavlohrad Chemical Plant, in custody for two months without the right to bail.
