In Mykolaiv, a deserter offered a bribe to a military commander to have his name removed from the wanted list

In Mykolaiv, a court sentenced a servicemember who attempted to bribe his way out of facing charges for deserting his military unit. After the sentences were combined, the man will spend eight years in prison.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

According to the investigation, the man had previously been convicted of robbery. In 2025, Pavlo Romanenko wasreleased early so that he could serve in the military under a contract. He subsequently deserted his military unit, after which he was placed on the wanted list.

In April, he was found on the grounds of one of the military towns. Realizing that he could be detained and returned to serve the remainder of his previous sentence, he offered the head of the investigative unit a bribe of $5,000. In exchange for this money, he asked that his unauthorized absence from the unit not be recorded, that the search for him be called off, and that no further action be taken.

The major refused the offer and warned the serviceman of criminal liability. Despite this, Romanenko attempted to negotiate twice more and later offered to pay part of the sum—$1,000. In May, he handed over 14,700 hryvnias to the officer, after which he was detained by SBU agents.

During the trial, Romanenko fully admitted his guilt. He explained that he had left the military unit due to a conflict with his commander, expressed remorse for his actions, cooperated with the investigation, and stated that he wished to continue his service in another brigade.

The court found him guilty of offering a bribe to a public official and sentenced him to two years in prison. Since he committed the crime while on conditional early release, the unserved portion of his previous sentence was partially added to this term. As a result, the man received an eight-year prison sentence. The money he had given as a bribe was confiscated as state revenue. In addition, the convicted man was ordered to pay over 5,700 hryvnias in expenses for the forensic examination.

Also in July, the head of one of the departments of the Odesa Regional Customs and Excise Service was detained on suspicion of corruption. According to investigators, he demanded 500 liters of diesel fuel in exchange for removing a person from the wanted list. 

Анна Бальчінос