Substandard glasses for the military for 25 million. The story of one crime

According to the procedure, before purchasing, equipment must first undergo a quality check. The mentioned ballistic goggles-masks were no exception. According to the interlocutor of the publication from the Ministry of Defense, LLC "TS Trade Ukraine" provided several samples for testing to the National Defense University of Ukraine. During the check, it turned out that the goods were of improper quality and would not be able to protect our military from shrapnel.

According to our data, the relevant conclusion of the scientists was provided to the "State Logistics Operator". The document directly stated that the goggles did not withstand the shelling with a shrapnel simulator. 

Money against science

As reported by the Ministry of Defense, Oleh Humen, director of "TS Trade Ukraine", disagreed with the test results and demanded that the goggles be re-tested in three independent laboratories. But Viktoria Vynohradova, program director of the state enterprise "State Logistics Operator", ignored this demand. Instead of insisting on new tests, she turned a blind eye to the inappropriate quality of equipment for the military, although she was the one who should have familiarized herself with the conclusions of the scientists, who indicated that the goggles would actually not protect the military in combat conditions.

Humen still turned to a private structure — LLC "Scientific and Engineering Center for Testing Products and Protection Materials", where, strangely enough, the goggles passed the tests and received a positive review.

Despite the fact that scientists from the National Defense University of Ukraine recognized the goggles-masks as unsuitable for protection against shrapnel injuries, the head of the Central Quality Control Department of the Ministry of Defense, Ihor Leshchenko, still ordered an inspection of the goods that had not passed the tests. According to the results of the inspection, surprisingly, the batch of goods was recognized as high-quality, the interlocutor of the publication said. Leshchenko signed the relevant inspection conclusions, and this opened the way for further purchase of the goods. According to our data, he has already been served with a notice of suspicion due to the negligent attitude of a military official to service, which caused significant damage, committed under martial law (Part 4 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The director of the supplying company, Oleh Humen, was also served with a notice of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Appropriation, embezzlement or seizure of another's property by abuse of official position by an official, committed on a particularly large scale or by an organized group).

It turns out that because two officials – Vynohradova and Leshchenko – did not control the quality of the equipment and did not conduct additional tests, the Ministry of Defense purchased 18,000 low-quality goggles-masks for the military, and the state paid over 25 million hryvnias for this.

Instead of reliable protection, the military purchased protection that did not even withstand standard tests in laboratory conditions, not to mention combat conditions.

It would seem that numerous stories with body armor, helmets, and non-firing weapons should have already taught Ministry of Defense officials to check the goods they buy. But in practice, the situation is quite the opposite.

The story with ballistic goggles is not just "negligence." It is a crime in which the interests of business and the indifference of officials involved in providing for our Armed Forces are intertwined.