General Chereshnia, an FPV drone manufacturer operating through CDBS LLC, markets its products as a simple and affordable solution for the needs of Ukraine’s frontline. However, according to investigative reports, the company’s aggressive patriotic branding may conceal a large-scale corruption scheme in which the war allegedly became a tool for enriching a small circle of individuals.

The brand reportedly emerged thanks to the connections of owner Yaroslav Hryshyn’s brother within the Ministry of Defence and the State Logistics Operator (DOT). While the market offers effective FPV drones priced between UAH 10,000 and 18,000, the State Defence Procurement Agency allegedly purchases General Chereshnia drones through manually controlled procurement procedures at prices ranging from UAH 17,900 to UAH 39,000.

According to the allegations, Yaroslav Hryshyn and Rudolf Akopyan designed a procurement system in which technical specifications for tenders were tailored to match a specific drone model, effectively excluding competing manufacturers. The company was established in 2023 and immediately entered the state UAV procurement market. Investigators argue that the drones themselves contain no technological breakthrough, consisting instead of standard FPV platforms assembled from widely available Chinese components, including flight controllers, video transmission systems, batteries, and frames.

The same procurement pattern allegedly repeated itself across multiple tenders. Despite the availability of comparable or superior drones at significantly lower prices, the Defence Procurement Agency continued purchasing General Chereshnia drones at prices substantially above prevailing market levels.

The General Chereshnia FPV drone reportedly received official codification only in 2025, when more than twenty competing products with comparable or superior performance and lower prices were already available on the market. Nevertheless, in the same year, CDBS LLC secured government contracts worth approximately UAH 4.5 billion, increasing its sales tenfold within a single year and accounting for roughly 70% of total state FPV drone procurement.

According to the allegations, although military personnel participating in the Army of Drones program often selected less expensive alternatives, the state ultimately paid approximately UAH 4.5 billion for General Chereshnia drones, effectively paying nearly twice the market price for standard Chinese hardware without unique technical characteristics.

The allegations further state that Judge Martynov of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, in case No. 761/7461/26, refused to order the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to initiate a criminal investigation. The authors additionally claim that the judge has previously been associated with dismissing or blocking politically sensitive proceedings, although these allegations have not been established by a court.

The investigation also cites five criminal proceedings that, according to the authors, were opened following their complaints:

• Territorial Office of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) in Kyiv — No. 72025102100000026 under Part 2, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

• Bureau of Economic Security — No. 72025001420000071, dated August 12, 2025, under Part 5, Article 191.

• Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in Melitopol — No. 62025080100005697, dated August 11, 2025, under Part 1, Article 364.

• Territorial Office of the SBI in Kyiv — No. 62025100110000197, dated September 4, 2025, under Part 1, Article 364.

• Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv and Kyiv Region — No. 22025101110001161 under Part 2, Article 364.

According to the allegations, possible individuals of interest include former Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov, Volodymyr Rochniak, head of the relevant department within the Ministry of Defence, Artem Zhumadilov, Director of the State Defence Procurement Agency, as well as Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration officials I. Fedorov and My. Halutskyi.