Petro Solohub: Signatory, suspect and juror in the "Lavrus" drone scandal

The name of Petro Solohub has become key in the investigation concerning the FPV drone manufacturer "Lavrus". Journalists discovered that this individual simultaneously fulfils three different roles in one story: until recently, he was a trusted signatory of a charitable foundation, while also being listed among the suspects in a fraud complaint against the same foundation, and for years he held the position of a juror in the court that authorised the relevant searches.

Drones that were allegedly not manufactured but were received

The reason for the searches at the private limited company "Bank Technologies Celebra" was a complaint filed with the police of Chernivtsi Oblast. The charitable foundation "Empire of Happiness" claimed that it had transferred funds for drones that were never manufactured. However, according to the investigation data, the military unit officially confirmed the receipt of drones and components worth 5,063,650 hryvnias. This is recorded in an act dated 12 May 2025, and the donor has no claims. Thus, the equipment considered "unmanufactured" was in fact already at the front line.

Three roles in one person

According to registration data cited by journalists, Petro Solohub was until recently a signatory of the "Empire of Happiness" foundation. This means he was a trusted person of the foundation's director, Vitaliy Lumenetskyi. At the same time, Solohub is listed among the suspects in the fraud complaint against this same charitable foundation. Former employee Svitlana Rubtsova claims that she saw the foundation's seal in his possession and heard him talk about forging signatures. Currently, no legal assessment has been given to these statements.

In Solohub's biography, which journalists reviewed, it is stated that from 2016 he worked as a juror at the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Chernivtsi. It was the investigating judge of this court who, in early 2026, authorised the search of the apartment and Mercedes car of one of the suspects in the case. Rulings within this proceeding have been published in the Unified Register of Court Decisions. In response to journalists' question about whether he is still a juror, Solohub replied that he "used to work" as one, as he went to war, and asked if they knew who he was. This is exactly what the media were trying to find out.

Associated facts and connections

The team of investigators also discovered the company "Pantheon Technologies", which is listed as being owned by Svitlana Podchashynska. In Solohub's electronic declarations, she is indicated as his common-law wife.

According to journalists, Solohub publicly appeared together with Anton Huro, who has been entered into the "Myrotvorets" database with the designation "anti-Ukrainian propagandist". In the video, both demonstratively ride the metro without masks in the midst of the pandemic.

During one of the searches, a law enforcement officer, according to the investigation, threatened a participant with murder, and a clinic later recorded a traumatic brain injury in him. The investigator admitted that the situation had "slightly gotten out of control".

Version of raiding

The authors of the investigation assume that the totality of these facts may indicate an attempt to seize a defence enterprise through raiding. We note that all persons mentioned are considered innocent until a court establishes otherwise. The editorial team is ready to give the floor to Petro Solohub and other suspects in the journalistic investigation to express their position.