The Ministry of Defense official, Oleksandr Nahorskyi, is charged with causing nearly UAH 1.5 billion in damages to the state through the conclusion of a loss-making contract for the supply of 25,000 artillery shells for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

At the end of 2023, the military counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine uncovered possible unlawful actions by employees of the state-owned arms exporter Progress, allegedly acting in collusion with officials of the Main Directorate for Ammunition Production of the Ministry of Defense. At that time, the SSU initiated an investigation into obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Investigators established that the head of the Directorate, Oleksandr Nahorskyi, signed a contract with the special exporter Progress for the supply of 25,000 artillery shells of 155 mm caliber produced by an Italian company. The total value of the contract amounted to approximately UAH 3.5 billion.

According to the SSU, the price of these shells was inflated by UAH 150 million compared to other state contracts and available commercial offers. The actual beneficiary, according to the investigation, was a Polish intermediary company.

Despite the signed contract, Progress failed to perform its terms and demanded advance payment. Nevertheless, Nahorskyi agreed at the end of 2023 to extend the contract for another year.

As a result, the Ministry of Defense transferred funds to SE Progress in the amount of over UAH 1.43 billion, representing about 40% of the contract value.

Nahorskyi’s actions were qualified under Article 364(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Article 114-1(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations). Investigators argued that Nahorskyi abused his official position when concluding the contract, which led to the enrichment of the Polish intermediary. The failure to perform the contract itself resulted in obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Because the case contained elements of a corruption offense, it was subject to investigation by detectives of the NABU, and all motions were to be approved by judges of the HACC. However, the materials were not transferred to the NABU, and the investigation continued to be conducted by the SSU, as determined by the prosecutor.

During the investigation, SSU investigators submitted motions to extend the terms of pre-trial investigation to the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, which usually considers motions in cases under the jurisdiction of the SSU Main Investigation Department.

Nahorskyi’s defense took advantage of this and filed a motion with the HACC to close the criminal proceedings. Since the case had to be investigated by the NABU, only the HACC could extend the investigation terms. Accordingly, the ruling of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court, which extended the term of investigation, was deemed unlawful, and the investigation period effectively expired.

The court agreed with the defense’s arguments and closed the criminal proceedings.  The decision has not yet entered into legal force, as it is being appealed to the HACC Appeals Chamber. However, the prosecutor appealed the decision. The panel of judges of the HACC Appeals Chamber granted the prosecutor’s appeal, overturned the first-instance ruling, and remitted the case for a new trial.

An interesting episode of the case arose when, during searches of Nahorskyi’s office, law enforcement officers discovered 330 Kalashnikov cartridges and a grenade. However, the investigation later closed the case on this matter.