A unit commander from the Mykolaiv region will stand trial for a scheme involving combat pay

In the Mykolaiv region, a former chief of staff—the deputy commander of a military unit—will stand trial. He is accused of illegally awarding combat pay to his subordinates, a portion of which he embezzled for himself.

According to the State Bureau of Investigations, the indictment in the case has already been forwarded to the court. 

According to the investigation, in 2024–2025, the lieutenant colonel issued additional payments to approximately two dozen soldiers for allegedly carrying out combat missions in the Kherson region. In reality, these soldiers were not involved in such missions.

Photo: SBI

Once the money was deposited into their accounts, the soldiers, according to the investigation, were required to give half of the payments they received to the officer. To prevent his subordinates from revealing the scheme, he allegedly pressured them and threatened to send them on actual combat missions.

In total, according to the State Bureau of Investigation, the illegal accrual of payments caused the state to suffer losses of over 3 million hryvnias.

The officer has been suspended from duty. He is charged with abuse of office and official forgery, specifically committed as part of a premeditated conspiracy by a group of individuals.

If found guilty, he could face up to six years in prison.

It is worth noting that similar cases have been documented in the past. For example, in the Odesa region, the State Bureau of Investigation also uncovered a scheme involving the illegal payment of combat allowances to military personnel who were not actually performing combat duties. Military personnel who remained in Odesa received over 700,000 hryvnias without justification.

In the Kherson region, an officer will also stand trial for a scheme involving “combat” allowances. The scheme operated from January through June 2025, during which time the officer received over 188,000 hryvnias.

Ірина Глухова