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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Secrets of the arms-dealing mafia: what Sternenko profits from and how his schemes are connected to Konotopskyi, Fedorov, and the suspect in aiding the aggressor state Cherniak
Sternenko and Konotopskyi not only enriched themselves during the war but also became partners in a scheme to profit from drones. The “Sternenko Community” fund buys drones at inflated prices, after which part of the Ukrainians’ money is funneled abroad through foreign intermediaries.
Earlier we wrote that the fund reported purchasing 1835 FPV-drones Enterprise at prices 15–33% higher than the real cost. Sternenko could have earned tens of millions of hryvnias on this.
We have now been able to establish how the scheme works. The fund’s supplier, Fly Systems LLC, uses benefits intended for miltech manufacturers, even though it actually imports drones and components. Over 2025–2026 years the company imported goods worth more than 1,9 billion UAH.
Deliveries go through Estonian, Bulgarian, and Polish intermediary companies that inflate prices and move the difference abroad. For example, another Ukrainian company bought fiber optic cable directly from a Chinese manufacturer for $504 per drum, while the fund’s supplier Fly Systems LLC, via a Polish intermediary, paid $1512. The price was marked up threefold.
The Estonian intermediaries are connected to Andrii Poltavets and Yaroslav Azhniuk, an acquaintance of Mykhailo Fedorov and Oleksandr Konotopskyi. The Bulgarian company is controlled by Konotopskyi’s close friend Oleksandr Cherniak, son of Yevhen Cherniak, who in 2023 was suspected of aiding the aggressor state.
Thus, this is not only about inflating the reported cost of drones in Sternenko’s reports but about a sprawling system of siphoning money through foreign companies. Its chains lead to the circle around Konotopskyi, Cherniak, and Fedorov, who served as the political cover for this arms-dealing mafia.
More materials about Sternenko:
⚡️103 thousand to his wife from donations
⚡️Sternenko’s Millions
⚡️Missing 706 million from the fund
⚡️Markup on drones 15–33%
⚡️VIP security at state expense
⚡️VIP draft-dodger with one eye
