The Pavlograd Chemical Plant deliberately supplied the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 233,000 defective mines
Andriy Shvets, Head of the Main Investigation Department of the SBU, revealed this in an interview with “Censor.NET”.
Andriy Shvets, Head of the SBU’s Main Investigation Department, stated that the indictment against the former Director General of the state-owned enterprise “Pavlohrad Chemical Plant” and his deputy has already been sent to court for consideration.
According to him, during the pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings concerning obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was established that they had deliberately supplied over 233,000 unusable mines.
Specifically, this involves 100,000 82-mm mortar rounds and nearly 133,000 120-mm mortar rounds.
According to the investigation, the total losses to the state in this case amount to 3.3 billion hryvnias.
Shvets separately emphasised that, according to the investigation, 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.
What the investigation established
According to the head of the SBU’s Main Investigation Department, the results of a forensic examination established that the gunpowder used led to the unstable functioning of the propellant charge. It was for this reason that the mortar rounds were deemed unfit for use.
Furthermore, according to the investigation, in August 2024, the company’s management forged an order purporting to halt production due to shelling. Law enforcement officials claim this was done to avoid fines for failing to meet delivery deadlines.
According to Shvets, this document was subsequently used to extend contracts with the State Defence Procurement Agency.
Separately, law enforcement officials are investigating a possible financial motive. This concerns, in particular, the likely overpricing of certain brands of gunpowder produced by a US company, which were purchased via a UK-based company.
What happened to the seized ammunition
During the investigation, as reported by the SBU, 480 120-mm rounds and 70 82-mm mortar rounds were seized for forensic examination.
Following the examination, these munitions were recognised as material evidence in the case.
Andriy Shvets noted that the final decision regarding the seized rounds is to be made by the court when passing sentence.
At the same time, he recalled that back in November 2024, the Armed Forces of Ukraine banned the issuance of 82-mm and 120-mm mortar rounds that remained in the troops’ possession. Following this, they were returned to the manufacturer for a complaint.
Background to the case
The article also notes that on 29 April 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the arrest of managers at a defence plant in the Dnipropetrovsk region, who are suspected of supplying defective ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Another incident in the field of defence procurement is also mentioned separately. It was previously reported that the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for Defence in the Eastern Region secured the return of over 57.5 million hryvnias to the Ministry of Defence for an unfulfilled 2009 defence contract for the manufacture of defence-related products.
It was also previously reported that the NABU and the SBU had exposed one of the heads of the defence-industrial complex in the Dnipropetrovsk region, who is suspected of organising a scheme to embezzle over 19 million hryvnias during the procurement of raw materials.
As reported by ThePublic, the SBU detained an FSB agent who was attempting to secure employment at a defence plant in Zaporizhzhia.
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