War in Ukraine: several injured in Russian attacks, $40 million fraud… update on the situation

Le point sur la situation. MAXPPP – ALESSANDRO GUERRA

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Sunday, January 28, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Several injured after new Russian drone and missile attacks

The Ukrainian armed forces indicated this Sunday, January 28, 2024, that Russia carried out a new drone and missile attack overnight against four regions of Ukraine, causing at least three injured, including a teenager, reports TF1 Infos.

Among the eight Shahed-type explosive drones, two Iskander missiles and three S-300 missiles sent by Moscow, only four could be shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

"Various civilian sites and critical infrastructure were attacked in Poltava, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk", a- she declared, without giving details of the damage.

A missile also fell on a residential area of ​​the city of Myrnograd during the night, causing several injuries: "A 15-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man years suffered injuries from the explosion, cuts and bruises. In a neighboring house, doctors diagnosed a head injury in a 30-year-old resident", said the prosecutor's office of the Donetsk region.

Massive $40 million weapons fraud discovered

The Ukrainian intelligence agency (SBU) declared this Saturday, January 27, 2024, that it had discovered a corruption system set up during the purchase of weapons by the Ukrainian army and that the total amount of fraud would be equivalent to approximately 40 million dollars.

The announcement of a massive fraud, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, should have a considerable impact in the country, while the conflict triggered by the ;#39;Russian invasion continues.
The fight to eradicate corruption in Ukraine remains a major challenge, as the European Union decided last year to begin official accession negotiations with Kyiv.

The SBU said an investigation showed that Defense Ministry employees and officials of the arms supplier Lviv Arsenal stole nearly 1.5 billion hryvnias in a transaction to buy shells".

"According to the investigation, former and current senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and leaders of ;#39;affiliated companies are involved in embezzlement."

The embezzlement concerned, according to the SBU, the purchase of 100,000 shells intended for the Ukrainian army. The SBU reported that a contract for shells was concluded with Lviv Arsenal in August 2022 – six months after the start of the war – and that payment was made to the company. advance, some funds having been transferred abroad.

The press release specifies, however, that no weapons were ever provided and that certain funds were then transferred to other foreign accounts.

Five people were served with "notices of suspicion", the first step in Ukrainian legal proceedings. One of the suspects was arrested while trying to cross the Ukrainian border.