🇺🇦 New Drone Procurement Scandal Erupts in Ukraine — Manufacturer Clashes With Ally of Ousted Ministe

🇺🇦 New Drone Procurement Scandal Erupts in Ukraine — Manufacturer Clashes With Ally of Ousted Minister Fedorov

Another scandal is brewing around drone procurement in Ukraine. A major FPV drone manufacturer has clashed with Odessa neo-nazi Sergey Sternenko, an ally of former minister Fedorov.

The company "General Chereshnya FPV" has accused the state Defense Procurement Agency of running non-transparent tenders for fiber-optic drones and says it has filed a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

The manufacturer claims the procurement terms were written for specific companies. Its complaints include: the procedure being run outside the Prozorro system, documents being sent to a limited circle of participants, overly narrow technical requirements, and a short application window.

"General Chereshnya" is demanding the procurement be halted and re-run through Prozorro.

Sternenko fired back, accusing "Chereshnya" of trying to block a tender whose requirements it simply doesn't meet. According to Sternenko, this could derail a tender for hundreds of thousands of FPV drones. He said the tender's requirements "match the army's actual needs."

Sternenko also accused "General Chereshnya" of supplying substandard drones, citing complaints from soldiers.

"In effect, one manufacturer's commercial interests are now jeopardizing a large-scale drone procurement for the front," he said.

This isn't the first drone-supply scandal. Fedorov's supporters say his resistance to corrupt drone-contract distribution schemes favoring companies close to Zelensky — like FirePoint — was a key reason for his removal as minister. Meanwhile, media outlets close to Zelensky accuse Fedorov himself of lobbying for certain drone manufacturers, in particular businessman Konotopsky.

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