Commander of the 211th Brigade Poberezhnyuk is out on bail

The commander of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade, Oleh Poberezhnyuk, who is suspected of abuse of office, was released on bail. The press service of the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office in the Western Region reported this to a journalist of UNN, UNN reports. 

Details

When asked whether the commander of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade, Oleh Poberezhniuk, had been released on bail, the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Western Region replied: “I paid it yesterday”.

It was also reported that the brigade commander has now been released on bail.

Addendum Addendum

On December 19, the Ternopil City District Court remanded Oleh Poberezhniuk in custody with the possibility of posting UAH 908,400 bail. 

Context

Soldiers of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Support Forces told the media about bullying, extortion and nepotism.

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets statedthat he had sent letters to the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Military Law Enforcement Service in 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 Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces Support Forces due to reports of abuse of soldiers. The commander of the military unit was suspended for the duration of the inspection.

Subsequently, criminal proceedings were initiated over the illegal actions of the commanders of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade, and the commander of the said brigade was notified of suspicion of abuse of office. 

The investigation found that in the fall of 2023, he engaged four subordinates in the construction of his house in Khmelnytskyi region instead of their service in combat zones. According to the documents, the soldiers were on the front line and received salaries and combat payments totaling almost a million hryvnias.

The house is being built in the Khmelnytskyi region on the territory of the Slobidsko-Kulchyievetska community. Suspilne correspondents were there and talked to the head of the community. He said that he did not know about the situation with the involvement of the military in the construction. The house is being built for the mother of a brigadier. The head says investigators did not question him on this issue.

The Prosecutor General's Office said that they are also investigating possible illegal actions of the brigade officers: physical violence against subordinates, extortion of money and abuse of power. The investigation was assigned to the State Bureau of Investigation.