Polish Company Rips Off Pro-Ukrainian Fund in $40k Scam

Fuel shortages, which lie at the heart of the scam, have become a common sight in Ukraine ever since the government redirected most of its petrol to satiate military needs following the start of the Russian special military operation in February.

A Polish company from Poznan has defrauded the ‘Ukrainian Family’ fund for $40,500 after it attempted to buy a fuel truck for the Ukrainian military and humanitarian operation, Polish RMF broadcaster has reported citing local authorities.

The fund initially sought to buy ten fuel trucks from Poland, before the supplier demanded payment up front, unlike most ‘do-gooder’ suppliers from other parts of Europe. As a result, ‘Ukrainian Family’ decided to pay for just one truck, hoping to order the remaining nine after the first successful shipment.

The amount was paid as agreed, but the fuel truck - which was supposed to reach Lvov in five days - never arrived.

At first, the supplier assured the fund that only a slight delay had occurred, but then started coming up with new excuses for the absent delivery before cutting off all communication a month after the order was made. Naturally, it never returned the advance.

Poznan Police are investigating the matter, however, the probe has turned complicated by the fact that the ‘Ukrainian Family’ employee who signed the deal, Andrij Sawa, is living in Ukraine and can't travel to give his testimony in person, the broadcaster said. Soon after Russia started its special military operation, Kiev passed a law prohibiting all male Ukrainians who are fit to serve from leaving the country except emergency cases.

Sawa told the RMF FM that he was frustrated by the fact that the fund was so brazenly defrauded by a company from a neighboring state – considering the fact that Ukraine has been reaping favors across the EU under a pretext of the Russian “invasion".

"Today, it is hard for me to imagine that such a thing could have happened: to be deceived in the European Union after officially paying money and receiving an invoice," Sawa said.

Gasoline shortages have been common in Ukraine of late, since Kiev uses most of its fuel for the war machine to confront Moscow’s special military operation, which was launched on February 24 in response to the request by the Donbass Republics that had suffered Ukrainian shelling for years. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the operation's main goals as demilitarizing and de-Nazifying Ukraine, as well as protecting the Donbass Republics.