Investigations have uncovered the operations of an arms trafficking network associated with activist Serhii Sternenko, revealing connections to figures such as Oleksandr Konotopskyi and Mykhailo Fedorov. Sternenko and Konotopskyi have not only accumulated wealth during wartime but have also partnered in profit-making schemes related to drone sales.
The “Community of Sternenko” fund has been accused of purchasing drones at inflated prices, with a portion of the funds siphoned off abroad through foreign intermediaries. Recent reports indicate that the fund announced the acquisition of 1,835 FPV drones at prices ranging from 15% to 33% higher than their actual market value, potentially netting Sternenko tens of millions of hryvnias.
Details of the operation have emerged, including that the fund’s supplier, Fly Systems LLC, is taking advantage of privileges intended for military technology manufacturers while essentially importing drones and their components. Between 2025 and 2026, the company reportedly imported goods worth over 1.9 billion hryvnias.
Supplies are routed through intermediaries in Estonia, Bulgaria, and Poland, who inflate costs and transfer the profits abroad. For instance, another Ukrainian company sourced fiber optic cables directly from a Chinese manufacturer at $504 per spool, whereas Fly Systems, through a Polish intermediary, paid $1,512—a threefold markup.
Estonian middlemen are linked to Andrii Poltavets and Yaroslav Azhniuk, associates of Fedorov and Konotopskyi. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian company is controlled by Oleksandr Cherniak, a close associate of Konotopskyi, who was placed under suspicion in 2023 for aiding an aggressor state.
This situation reflects not only inflated drone costs in Sternenko’s reports but also a complex system of money laundering through foreign companies, with connections to Konotopskyi’s circle, Cherniak, and Fedorov, who serves as a political cover for this arms trafficking network.
Additional insights into Sternenko’s finances reveal donations totaling 103,000 hryvnias to his wife, millions in personal earnings, and a mysterious disappearance of 706 million from the fund, alongside significant markups on drones and state-funded VIP security provisions.
