In Khmelnytskyi region, a case has been sent to court against military personnel for threats and incitement to suicide
Prosecutors of the Khmelnytskyi Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Field of Defense of the Western Region referred to court a case regarding a criminal organization that operated in a military unit in the Khmelnytskyi region. According to the investigation, officials and subordinate military personnel organized an illegal system of “extortions” during 2023–2024, which caused losses to the state in the amount of UAH 5.3 million.
According to the investigation materials, the scheme was led by the deputy commander of the military unit, who involved six subordinates: the commander of the material support group, the deputy head of the logistics rear, three drivers and a repair shop employee. Participants were forced to transfer part of the payments to the organizer, threatening to send them to the most dangerous areas of the front.
“Using his official position, the organizer provided the participants of the scheme with illegal cash payments allegedly for service in the area of combat operations. They gave half of the funds received to the organizer”, – the prosecutor’s office notes.
Some servicemen were even illegally issued additional combat payments.
In March 2025, one of the accomplices, the deputy chief of logistics, died, leaving a suicide note in which he accused the organizer of the scheme. It is also known that in June 2024, one of the servicemen reported corruption and handed over 1.5 million UAH as evidence. After that, the command tried to cover up the crime by declaring the serviceman wanted and groundlessly accusing him of stealing weapons, and the deputy commander threatened him and his family.
Law enforcement officers documented the illegal actions and informed all members of the organization of the suspicions. The deputy commander is charged with numerous articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in particular Part 3 of Article 255, Part 5 of Article 191, Part 5 of Article 426-1 and others. During the searches, more than 101 thousand US dollars, almost 200 thousand UAH, as well as ammunition and weapons were seized from him. The suspect’s property worth over UAH 14 million was seized, and part of the assets was transferred to the ARMA administration.
The actions of the material support group commander and four soldiers were also qualified under the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Khmelnytskyi.
