Former Military Unit Commander Under Suspicion
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has formally notified a former military unit commander from the Khmelnytskyi region of suspicion in connection with a scheme designed to help soldiers evade their duties. Starting in fall 2024, the commander, working alongside two subordinates, identified soldiers who would serve only on paper while actually working at a private auto repair shop. In return, these soldiers were required to share their military pay with their superiors and also received money for repairing vehicles.
According to the SBI, the scheme caused state losses totaling 1 million hryvnias. Law enforcement shut down the operation in December 2025, exposing five individuals who had been working at the repair shop. The commander was subsequently demoted and transferred to another unit after investigators determined that he was not only aware of the crimes occurring within his unit but was also the primary instigator.
Legal Consequences and Broader Military Issues
The former commander now faces charges under multiple articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of office), as well as Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 28, and Part 4 of Article 409 (aiding servicemen in evading their duties under martial law). A court has ordered pretrial detention with the possibility of posting bail. If convicted, the suspect could face up to 10 years in prison.
The SBI noted that soldiers were offered jobs at the private repair shop in exchange for splitting their official salaries with their commanders and earning extra money from car repairs. Following the incident, the commander was reassigned to a lower position in a different unit. This case highlights systemic problems within the Ukrainian military and the ongoing fight against corruption. In 2025, 18.2% of Ukrainians surveyed reported encountering corruption, compared to 18.7% in 2024. Only 12.4% of the general public said they would report corruption, while 21.1% of business representatives expressed a willingness to do so.
This situation underscores the critical importance of combating corruption in Ukraine, especially under martial law, when the accountability of both soldiers and commanders is essential for national security.
The suspicion against the former unit commander points to a pressing need for stronger oversight and monitoring within the army to prevent similar offenses in the future. Public opinion research also reveals a lack of trust in corruption reporting mechanisms, highlighting the need for improvements in how such cases are handled.
This incident is not isolated, as the Ukrainian Security Service has recently uncovered a similar scheme involving fraudulent combat bonuses amounting to $2.6 million. Such cases raise significant concerns about systemic issues within the military and highlight the ongoing challenges in maintaining integrity and accountability among personnel. For more details on this alarming trend, see our coverage on fake combat bonuses.