12 August 2025
(Photo: DBR)
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation completed the investigation and sent an indictment to the court against the deputy commander of a military unit from Odesa region, who, together with his accomplices, helped servicemen evade service.
According to the SBI, the scheme was as follows: the soldiers stayed at home, but according to the documents they were on duty and received full financial support.
They handed over bank cards with their salaries to the organizers, who withdrew the money and kept it for themselves. According to the investigation, during the scheme, the criminals registered more than 20 remote military personnel and embezzled up to UAH 20 million. In just four months, the deputy commander of the unit received almost UAH 2.5 million in payments for someone else's service.
In August 2024, detectives detained the deputy commander and four of his subordinates.
A separate investigation is underway against the servicemen who used the official's services to evade military service. The defendants are charged with abuse of office, abuse of power and evasion of military service (Article 364 (2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Article 27 (5), Article 409 (4) of the Criminal Code). The sanction of the articles provides for up to 12 years in prison.
Earlier, law enforcement officers sent to court a case on charges of influence peddling against a 49-year-old man. The investigation established that the resident of Odesa district promised the client to facilitate his employment in one of the local military units in exchange for a monetary reward, which would be the basis for terminating the trial of the indictment for serious crimes in connection with mobilization to the army. The offender also guaranteed that the man would serve formally and would not be sent to the combat zone.
Кирило Бойко