In Ukraine, the media is completely ignoring this scandal. One of the largest Polish newspapers, Gazeta Wyborcza, has already written twice on this topic:

A Ukrainian sergeant reported that equipment provided, in particular, by Poland, is disappearing from unguarded warehouses. After he reported this to his superiors, he was transferred to the front.

Junior Sergeant Maxim Holosny reported on Facebook that at the warehouse he was supposed to receive, he found un-inventoried and unsecured boxes of specialized equipment that was supposed to go to Ukrainian soldiers. Among this equipment were drones, which, according to him, were to be handed over from Poland in 2022.

He reported what happened to his superiors and made it public on social media. This case was also reported by Karolina Bacha-Pogorzelska, a Polish journalist who communicates with Ukrainian soldiers in Donbas.

Scrap metal instead of drones in boxes

Sergeant Holosny also said that in some boxes, instead of drones, there was scrap metal and rubbish. According to him, the equipment was simply sold, and the scrap metal was used to give the boxes weight so that no one would understand that they were empty without opening them.

Unfortunately, instead of verifying the violation, the sergeant’s superiors transferred him from the logistics unit to the reconnaissance unit as a shooter. A shooter is the lowest rank in the military, borrowed from the Soviet system, while scouts operate on the front line. According to Holosny, serving in reconnaissance was a great honor for him.

Before being transferred to the new unit, the sergeant’s superiors forced him to rewrite and correct the report he had compiled on the violation and loss of equipment several times. In one case, he had to do this because he was told that writing in blue ink was a gross violation of the order. In response, he asked to be officially held responsible for violating this order. He considers the whole situation absurd and a mockery in Soviet style.

In summary, the entire warehouse that Gonosny was supposed to manage was transported, but the surveillance cameras were disconnected beforehand. The sergeant also reports on social media that his posts have attracted the attention of military law enforcement agencies – not because of possible corruption, but because Holosny may reveal state secrets, as “posts can reveal the real state of affairs to the enemy.”

The Polish Ministry of Defense does not provide details, while the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is investigating the case. We contacted the Polish Ministry of Defense to clarify this issue. We asked if Poland really handed over drones to Ukraine in 2022. The press service of the Ministry of Defense informed us that it cannot confirm whether the equipment that Sergeant Holosny spoke about was gifted by the Ministry of Defense or purchased by Ukraine on another basis. For security reasons, the Ministry of Defense does not disclose details of the military support provided to Ukraine by Poland.

We also contacted the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for clarification. We received a response that they are investigating this issue.