Criminal proceedings have been initiated over the illegal actions of the commanders of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade, the commander of the brigade was served with a notice of suspicion of abuse of office, searches were conducted at the military unit, the commander's and the soldiers' place of residence and at the construction site, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Tuesday, UNN reports.
Details
"On December 16, 2024, the Ternopil Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office launched a pre-trial investigation against officials of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the fact of abuse of power or authority by a military official (Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the Prosecutor General's Office reported on social media.
The pre-trial investigation was entrusted to the investigators of the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation located in Lviv.
According to the SBI, the bureau is investigating proceedings regarding non-statutory relations in the 211th Brigade.
"It should be noted that the SBI had not received any materials on this situation from either officials or the brigade's members before," the SBI said.
The criminal proceedings, according to the Prosecutor General's Office, investigate "possible illegal actions of the brigade officers, which consisted of the use of physical violence against subordinates under martial law, extortion of money and abuse of disciplinary power." The materials collected during the official inspections of the brigade by the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, media and social media reports, etc. are being studied.
Знущання у 211 понтонно-мостовій бригаді: починає роботу Головна інспекція Міноборони16.12.24, 16:07
"In addition, the commander of the said brigade was served a notice of suspicion of abuse of office (Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
As indicated, it was established that in the fall of 2023, he involved four subordinates in the construction of his house in Khmelnytskyi region, instead of their service in combat zones. The soldiers were officially included in the order to be sent to Mykolaiv region, where they allegedly performed their duties, but in fact they were not there. At the same time, they received salaries and combat payments totaling almost a million hryvnias, the Prosecutor General's Office noted .
"Law enforcement officers conducted authorized searches in the military unit, at the place of residence of the commander, servicemen and at the construction site. Documents and other material evidence of illegal activity were seized," the prosecutor's office said.