Oleksiy Babenko, founder of the Ukrainian drone manufacturing company «Vyriy Industry» (ТОВ «Вирій Індастрі»), has acquired a 75% stake in the online news outlet Babel from the Slovak company IG for $1 million. The deal coincided with Babenko’s purchase of a Porsche Macan and a three-month delay in FPV drone deliveries to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In late 2025, Vyriy Industry secured a major state contract to produce 100,000 fiber-optic FPV drones valued at $120 million.
However, after receiving an advance payment, Babenko significantly missed the delivery deadlines. As a result, frontline units experienced a three-month gap without fiber-optic FPV drone supplies.
«The Babenko twin brothers emerged as market leaders and effectively secured a monopoly, largely owing to patronage from Mariia Berlinska (Victory Drones),» sources familiar with the defense sector noted.
Oleksiy Babenko (born 1998) holds a degree in Sociology. Prior to the full-scale invasion, his career was focused on event performance and fire shows. According to the website of the «SCORPIUS» Fire and Light Theater, Babenko was listed as an organizer and core performer, holding several awards from fire performance festivals.
His transition into the defense industry took place in early 2022:
Initial Ventures: At the onset of the full-scale war, Babenko began sourcing and selling body armor independently (evidenced by his early direct outreach messages).
Company Formation: In 2022, he registered LLC «Vyriy Industry,» which immediately began participating in public and state defense procurements.
Drones manufactured by Vyriy Industry have been frequently integrated into large-scale public donation campaigns. Notably, the equipment has appeared regularly during defense aid handovers organized by former President Petro Poroshenko’s charitable initiatives.
In a single procurement batch dedicated to troops in the Sumy region, 500 drones were purchased directly from Babenko’s firm.
Neither Oleksiy Babenko nor representatives of Vyriy Industry have issued an official response regarding the media acquisition or the delays in military equipment deliveries to the front lines.