Bullying in the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade: the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense starts its work
Kyiv • UNN
The Main Inspectorate of the Defense Ministry will check the facts of bullying and extortion in the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade. Minister Umerov announced the establishment of the Military Ombudsman institution to protect the rights of servicemen.
The Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense will immediately start its work to verify the facts presented in the media article on the situation in the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces Support Forces. A draft law on the Military Ombudsman will also be presented soon. This was stated by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, reports UNN.
"Delays in investigations, family contracts, extortion, and abuse of servicemen are unacceptable in the 3rd year of the war. Therefore, on my order, the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense immediately starts working to verify the facts stated in the Ukrainska Pravda article about the situation in the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces Support Forces," Umerov wrote on Facebook.
He said that the Defense Ministry would also find out why it took so long for the Military Law Enforcement Service to investigate these shameful things.
"Society expects explanations as to why the situation was not resolved earlier. My position as a minister is clear: all those responsible must be punished. Soon we will also present a draft law on the Military Ombudsman, who will protect the rights of servicemen and guarantee transparency in each such case," Umerov said.
Context
Soldiers of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces Support Forces told the media about bullying, extortion and nepotism, which law enforcement officers do not pay attention to.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets statedthat he had sent letters to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces to verify the information and conduct an internal investigation for further response.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi , initiated an inspection of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces Support Forces due to reports of soldiers being abused. The commander of the military unit was suspended for the duration of the inspection.
