Odesa Military Academy is outraged by 1 plus 1 story about cadet's suicide

The administration of the Odesa Military Academy expressed concern over the fact that the 1+1 TV channel announced the release of a detailed story about the tragic death of cadet Pavlo Stovbun.

The academy stated that the journalists did not ask the management of the institution for an official position when preparing the story.

"We respect the work of journalists, but we have to officially state that no representatives of the Academy were involved in the preparation of this material. We were not asked for a comment or clarification of the official position, or for the facts that our internal investigation has. Given that even the announcement contained many inconsistencies, and the story was prepared without taking into account all the circumstances, we turned to the editorial board because we are interested in and insist on objectivity and the involvement of a wider range of people involved in the event. In this way, we intend to emphasize facts, not assumptions, without manipulation and without misleading the public, without resorting to pressure and without revealing the secrets of the investigation," the university said.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the death of Pavlo Stovbun, a 17-year-old first-year cadet at the Odesa Military Academy, continues in Rivne region. The boy was found dead on November 26, 2025, on the territory of one of the colleges where the academy's units were temporarily stationed due to the threat of Russian missile strikes.

According to the cadet-officer telegram channel SLON FM, the conflict began after three freshmen, including Stovbun, allegedly stole several energy drinks from a store. According to the cadets, the management learned about this from the police.

The head of the location, Lieutenant Colonel Artem Kosenko, imposed collective punishment and banned all cadets from visiting the store. However, the sergeants - cadets with the rank of junior sergeant - decided that this was not enough. According to SLON FM, five sergeants forced three freshmen to eat off the floor and drink salt water, and then Pavlo Stovbun was beaten by a petty officer from another course.

Investigators have officially confirmed that two days before the boy's death, he was subjected to acts of humiliation, physical and mental violence. Some of the bullying was filmed on phones - these videos were seized by law enforcement.

Кирило Бойко