In Odesa, a case involving "dead souls" at a military unit has been referred to court

Prosecutors from the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense Affairs in the Southern Region have referred to court the case of five military officials accused of organizing a scheme to embezzle more than 15.1 million hryvnias in budget funds.

According to the press service of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants include a former military unit commander, a chief of staff, his two deputies, and a company commander.

The investigation established that between 2022 and 2025, they fictitiously included military personnel who were not actually serving on the personnel rosters. To do this, they prepared documents purporting to show that these individuals were performing their military duties, which served as the basis for the payment of salaries and other benefits.

Under this scheme, 19 individuals evaded military service; according to the investigation, they transferred the funds they received to the scheme’s organizers in cash and via bank transfers.
As a result of these actions, the state suffered losses totaling more than 15.1 million hryvnias.

The defendants are charged with abuse of official position committed by an organized group, forgery of official documents, and aiding and abetting a military servicemember’s evasion of military service duties through document forgery. Pretrial measures were imposed on them in the form of pretrial detention with the possibility of posting bail ranging from over one million hryvnias to 121,120 hryvnias.

The penalties under these articles provide for up to 10 years of imprisonment. In April 2026, during searches of the defendants’ residences and their vehicles, law enforcement officers seized documents, draft notes, bank cards, cash, and other evidence of criminal activity.

Кирило Бойко