Odesa officer detained for sending soldiers to repair

A lieutenant colonel of a military unit in Odesa region used his subordinates for other purposes - instead of serving on the front line, he sent them to make repairs in his apartment. The official was detained by SBI detectives.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation, four soldiers spent four months repairing an apartment in the city of Podilsk instead of performing combat missions at the front,

The apartment they were repairing was registered in the name of a relative of the commander's civilian wife. The soldiers laid tiles, painted, installed plumbing and performed other construction work. At the same time, they were officially registered for service and received combat payments, causing the state to suffer losses of more than 500 thousand hryvnias.

Photo: State Bureau of Investigation.

According to the SBI, the commander was detained right in his apartment, where the repair work was underway. He was notified of suspicion of abuse of power under martial law. If proven guilty, he faces up to 12 years in prison.

Photo: State Bureau of Investigation.

This is not the first case in Odesa region. Earlier, SBI and SBU officers detained the commander of the regional department of the Territorial Defense Forces "South" in the region, who forced his subordinates to build him a private house. The official involved three servicemen in the construction of his estate back in 2023. They spent more than a year building a house for the chief, while receiving additional payments for allegedly performing combat missions on the front line.

Earlier, SBI officials had already completed an investigation and sent an indictment to court against another commander who, in August 2022, ordered soldiers to build a mansion for him near Odesa instead of fulfilling their duties to defend and protect Ukraine.

Ірина Глухова