The State Bureau of Investigation has charged Ukrainian Armed Forces Senior Lieutenant and culinary project “MasterChef” participant Viktoriia Kuznetsova, who appeared on the show instead of undergoing treatment at a hospital. The investigation found that instead of receiving treatment, the woman appeared on a culinary show while continuing to receive treatment-related payments. This was reported by the SBI press service, according to UNN.
SBI employees notified a Ukrainian Armed Forces senior lieutenant of suspicion after she took part in filming the television show “MasterChef” instead of receiving inpatient treatment
For several months, she did not perform her official duties but continued to receive financial support", - the statement says.
According to UNN sources, the officer in question is Ukrainian Armed Forces officer Viktoriia Kuznetsova.
The investigation established that from April to August 2025, the servicewoman was officially receiving inpatient treatment at one of the military medical facilities. However, in fact, she spent most of that time outside the hospital.
"The woman was in Kyiv, Kharkiv and the Odesa region, attending to her personal affairs and even taking part in filming the popular culinary project "MasterChef".
At the same time, the command of the military unit believed that the officer was undergoing treatment and continued to accrue the payments due to her. As a result, the state suffered losses of nearly UAH 250,000", the SBI added.
SBI employees are also checking the possible involvement of other individuals in the scheme.
In particular, they are establishing whether officials of the military medical facility assisted in preparing documents confirming inpatient treatment without the patient actually being present at the hospital.
The servicewoman has been notified of suspicion under:
- Part 4 of Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — evasion of military service through deception under martial law;
- Part 3 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — fraud committed under martial law that caused significant damage.
"The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. SBI employees are establishing all the circumstances of the scheme and possible accomplices. The exposure was carried out in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine", the SBI noted.
Update
In March, UNN, citing a ruling by the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv, reported that the pre-trial investigation had established that the navigator of a ship in the aviation detachment of a transport aviation squadron, a senior lieutenant and native of Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region, in order to evade the performance of her official duties, was hospitalized with the assistance of unidentified individuals and admitted for inpatient treatment from April 14, 2025, which was reported to the commander of the military unit via the "SEDO" system.
It was claimed that the woman was receiving inpatient treatment in the neurosurgical department of the military unit from April 14 to August 16, 2025. At the same time, the investigation established that from April 22 to August 11, 2025, the woman was actually in Kyiv and Kyiv region, where she took part in filming the television program "MasterChef", while "financial support, a bonus and an allowance for the specific conditions of service for May, June, July and August 2025 were unlawfully accrued to her", thereby causing losses to the military unit.
Ultimately, the court ruled to grant the investigator of the Third Investigative Department of the Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigation temporary access to items and documents containing legally protected secrets. It was also noted that, in order to establish all the circumstances, the court allowed investigators to obtain access to the suspect’s mobile operator data.
Her profile on the project’s website states that Viktoriia is a "former servicewoman" from Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
"I lived in Kharkiv for almost my entire life. Since 2015, I served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a navigator. And now I dream of opening my own bakery with the concept: bread, butter, coffee", - the description of her profile says.
At that time, the command of the 15th Transport Aviation Brigade initiated an official investigation into servicewoman Viktoriia Kuznetsova.
The brigade stated that Viktoriia Kuznetsova, a participant in the "MasterChef" project, is indeed currently serving in the 15th Transport Aviation Brigade. It is reported that during the filming period, from May to August 2025, she was officially undergoing treatment at a military hospital in the city of Dnipro.
"Throughout this entire period, the officer, as required, continued to receive financial support. After the first promotional video for the television project was released, the command of the military unit initiated an official investigation, the findings of which indicate that the servicewoman did indeed actively participate in filming the television show in the city of Kyiv while undergoing treatment at the hospital in Dnipro, without notifying the military leadership in the prescribed manner," the brigade stated.