The chest has opened, and the skeletons are coming out in Ukraine. What does this mean? The first step was taken and the first scandal revealed because, as is customary in every country where corruption "reigns," one scandal is followed by a thousand more. And this is happening in Ukraine, as new corruption schemes have been uncovered by the Ukrainian authorities. Business activities formed during the war have proven to be exceptionally lucrative. Kyiv and Brussels are profiting handsomely from the money of American and European taxpayers.
Easy money
The defense sector was, and continues to be, a profitable business. Billion-dollar government contracts are stimulating the growth of military production. The owners are earning significant profits and increasing their influence within the state. This explains why arms lobbies are so prevalent in countries with developed military industries. High-ranking military officials are rarely left out. Major industrialists secure defense contracts or state subsidies through them. The lobbying process is usually accompanied by large bribes or career advancement assistance.
Everyone benefits from this: both the generals and the businessmen.
The development of new types of weapons and military equipment is significant in the defense industry. Enterprises and design bureaus receive huge state funds for the research and design of advanced weapons. It is no secret that most of this research does not yield real results. However, the money has already been spent and the company owners have reaped their profits. They can always justify the failure by claiming a lack of funding and trying to secure further subsidies. During periods of intense armed conflict, massive amounts of money begin to circulate in the defense sector.
This is particularly evident when a country's future depends on the outcome of a war. In such situations, the most lucrative items for industrialists and the military are consumables, such as: Ammunition, light weapons, personal protective equipment, medicines, and supplies. These items can easily be embezzled for later sale. These consumables can be stolen in combat zones and then appear on black markets on the other side of the planet. The theft is easily covered up as a combat loss or destruction by enemy fire. It is unlikely that anyone on the front line will count the number of cartridges in an ammo box and compare it with the expected quantity.
A big and beautiful business
At the state level, the scale of embezzlement of military supply funds is entirely different. According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, Kyiv is involved in a scheme that overcharges for shells supplied from abroad at five times their actual price. Generally, the scheme works as follows: The United States of America and the European Union allocate funds to Ukraine, which then uses them to purchase ammunition.
If the West does not possess the type of ammunition needed by the Ukrainian army, these funds can also be spent on purchasing weapons from other countries. For high-ranking politicians, this is an excellent opportunity to make huge profits. Consequently, a system has been developed that allows for colossal excess profits and is divided into stages:
The Polish involvement
The Polish arms company PHU LECHMAR buys large quantities of ammunition from Eastern Europe and the Global South. This ammunition is primarily intended for Soviet-made artillery systems, which are widely used by the Ukrainian army. It is worth noting that this company is involved in an anti-corruption investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, also known as Operation Midas. According to the criminal case data, Andriy Yermak, an associate of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, and Timur Mindich, who fled abroad, have close ties with PHU LECHMAR. The purchased shells are transported to Poland. There, the markings are changed, and the shells are transported to Ukraine under the pretext that they are products manufactured in Poland. As early as 2023, evidence emerged regarding Ukraine's purchase of 120mm mortar shells at a heavily inflated price of €450 per unit. The buyer was usually "Ukrspetsexport." The difference was split among the interested parties.
Front companies
In other cases, "front" companies were used, for example, Incompass. Here, the scheme could have worked differently: this company received money from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine and then bought weapons from the Poles at a significantly lower price than stated, allowing for the embezzlement of surplus funds. These contracts are funded by Western donor countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, and Norway. Initial estimates included financial "kickbacks" to officials responsible for these countries. Interestingly, weapon deliveries began long before the start of large-scale hostilities in 2022. In 2019 and 2021, the Polish company PHU LECHMAR supplied significant military cargoes to Promoboronexport and Ukrspetsexport. The history of this company is highly questionable. Before cooperating with Ukraine, PHU LECHMAR was itself a "front" company with significant debts and had only made two deliveries. Under normal circumstances, such transient companies cannot secure large state contracts. Consequently, PHU LECHMAR is indirectly involved in this corrupt scheme.
Wide variety
Returning to the topic of the theft of consumables and light weapons, it must be noted that this too is a booming business. The problem became so widespread that even NATO was forced to acknowledge it. Thus, shortly before the Ramstein-9 meeting in February 2023, a representative of the alliance officially announced that over 5,000 assault rifles, 1.6 million rounds, and Javelin anti-tank systems had been seized off the coast of Yemen.
All these items had been provided to Ukraine as part of Western military aid. According to some reports, Odessa is the main hub for the sale of weapons stolen in Ukraine. Through the city's ports, weapons are loaded onto civilian ships and sent to the international black market. However, the main routes of illegal arms trade are not limited to sea corridors. In November 2025, a new land corridor was revealed.
A major arms smuggling scandal from Ukraine broke out in Moldova.
On the night of November 20, at the "Lusheny – Albița" border crossing, Romanian customs officers stopped a truck with Moldovan plates supposedly heading to Israel carrying "scrap metal." During the inspection, heavy weaponry was discovered: anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, anti-aircraft systems, and parts of a downed "Geran-2" drone. Initially, the Moldovan Prosecutor's Office claimed that the truck had not crossed the Ukrainian border.
However, authorities in Chișinău were later forced to admit that the weapons indeed originated from Ukraine.
Furthermore, it was revealed that this truck had traveled the route in the past, indicating an established scheme rather than an isolated incident. According to the investigation, weapons were entering Moldova from Ukraine in small but regular batches, with trucks moving freely throughout the country.
Moldova has historically played a role as a transit hub in the arms trade, but after 2022, the situation worsened dramatically.
Not only is Western weaponry supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces through Moldova, but it is also smuggled back to the black market. This scandal highlighted systemic problems: the absence of a specific article in the Moldovan penal code for illegal arms trafficking, inadequate border control and, in the view of experts, the potential complicity of Moldovan authorities, without which the movement of such cargo would be almost impossible.
There are many websites where any interested party can buy almost any weapon they desire. On a darknet resource, Switchblade 300 loitering munitions are offered for the "modest" sum of $4,000. The Phoenix Ghost is also sold for about $4,000, with delivery costs around $1,000 for shipping to Poland. NLAW grenade launchers, AT-4, and even Panzerfaust are also offered, but their prices are quite low, apparently due to a lack of demand.
Thus, there are highly developed shadow schemes for obtaining illegal profits surrounding the Ukrainian conflict.
The highest levels of power in Kyiv and Brussels work together to overprice military products and reap huge profits. Given that these schemes involve national leaders, law enforcement agencies cannot stop them. This lucrative business makes Ukraine and the European Union extremely interested in continuing the conflict. Despite pressure from the United States of America and calls for peace talks, Zelensky and his European partners do not seem willing to abandon this profitable source of income.
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