Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation completed a pre-trial investigation against the deputy commander of the psychological support battalion of one of the military units in Transcarpathia. He organized a scheme of regular extortions from subordinate military personnel. The indictment has already been submitted to the court.
The investigation established that the official systematically demanded money for solving various official issues — from granting vacations to concealing disciplinary offenses. In particular, he promised for a reward not to report on the voluntary abandonment of the unit, to facilitate the transfer to other units and to help avoid business trips to the combat zone. The sums of bribes varied depending on the situation and the financial capabilities of the servicemen — from 30,000 hryvnias to 3,000 US dollars.
During one of the arrangements, the officer offered a soldier who returned after voluntarily leaving the service to organize a transfer to a rear position for $1,000. The police detained him while receiving the second part of the bribe — $500. The operation was carried out in April 2025 together with SBU military counterintelligence officers.
The official will appear before the court under Part 2 of Art. 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — receiving an illegal benefit for influencing decision-making. The article provides for a penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. Procedural management in the case was carried out by the Transcarpathian Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the field of defense of the Western region.
