Ukraine's security service, the SBU, says it has uncovered an arms corruption plot to embezzle $40 million of defence funding set aside to procure 100,000 mortar shells as the war with Russia rages on.
Five senior defence officials and business leaders are suspected of involvement in the plot.
Top Pentagon officials warned this week that Ukraine's troops are running out of ammunition after almost two years of war with Russia.
On Saturday, five people were served with “notices of suspicion”, the first stage in Ukrainian legal proceedings, in connection with the fraud, including one person who had attempted to leave the country.
The suspects are accused of having “attempted to steal almost 1.5 billion hryvnia [$40 million] from the budget by purchasing 100,000 mortar rounds for the Armed Forces”, the SBU said.
It is alleged they signed a contract to buy the shells from Lviv Arsenal in August 2022, after which the Defence Ministry “transferred the full amount stipulated in the signed document to the company's accounts”.
The funds were then sent to a foreign company that was supposed to deliver the ammunition, but “not a single artillery shell” was ever sent to Ukraine, the SBU said.
Among the officials accused of participating in the scheme are the current and former heads of the Defence Ministry's departments of military and technical policy, and development of armaments and military equipment, as well as the head of Lviv Arsenal.
Prosecutors say the stolen funds have been seized and will be returned to the defence budget.
Ukraine has weathered a series of corruption scandals in recent months, including within the Defence Ministry.
In August last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked all regional officials in charge of military recruitment in a bid to put an end to a system in which some people were being allowed to evade conscription.
More than 30 people faced criminal charges, accused of taking bribes and smuggling people out of the country in a scandal Mr Zelenskyy described as “high treason”.
Other scandals have involved the procurement of goods and equipment for the army at inflated prices.
Ukraine is fighting to root out corruption as it presses forward in its bid to secure membership in the EU. The bloc has stipulated that fighting corruption is one of the conditions of membership.
Kyiv also faces a further headache as it continues to push for more support in defending against the Russian invasion, as Republicans in the US continue to resist President Joe Biden's efforts to send more military aid to the country.
Over the weekend, Russia launched drone and missile attacks at civilian and critical infrastructure across Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday.
Russia and Ukraine have increased their air attacks on each other's territory in recent months, aiming to hit critical military, energy and transport infrastructure.
The air force said Russia attacked the central Poltava region with two ballistic missiles, as well as firing three surface-to-air missiles over the eastern Donetsk region.
Filip Pronin, governor of Poltava region, wrote on Telegram that the Russian missiles had struck an industrial site in the city of Kremenchuk, causing a fire.
Further south-east, in Zaporizhzhia region, governor Yuri Malashko said a drone attack had hit infrastructure.
Russia launched eight drones on Saturday night, and Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed four of them, the air force said.
if you go
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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