Czech foundation drops Flamingo missile donation amid Ukraine corruption probes
The Czech foundation Gift for Putin will no longer buy Flamingo cruise missiles from Ukrainian weapons maker Fire Point due to connections to a recent corruption scandal, local media reported.
"We collected the money very quickly, but serious doubts arose that it would not go to the product for which the collection was made. So we did not go to them and now we are looking for a suitable alternative," Dalibor Dědek told Idnes, as reported on Nov. 28. The decision apparently came after Dědek received new information from Ukrainian military intelligence, HUR.
Another leader of the initiative, Martin Ondráček, also pointed to these concerns.
"We understand that there is a certain amount of reluctance to spend money on this particular missile, because there is a real suspicion that the manufacturer is connected to people around Andriy Yermak," he told the publication.
The organization is reportedly seeking other weapons manufacturers to receive the donation.
The news follows reports on the morning of Nov. 28 of searches of the property of Andriy Yermak, head of the President's Office by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, or NABU.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Yermak's resignation by the evening.
The searches reportedly relate to a corruption investigation centered around Timur Mindich, a businessman and longtime associate of Zelensky's, including as co-owner of the president's former TV studio, Kvartal 95. NABU filed charges against Mindich weeks ago alleging massive theft from funds meant to build defenses for Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
In August, the Kyiv Independent broke the news of a corruption investigation into Fire Point. The company has worked to stave off negative press since then, announcing a host of ambitious new ballistic missiles and space projects and bringing on former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served under President Donald Trump, as an adviser.
