Covered up abuse of soldiers: case against ex-commander of 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade sent to court
Kyiv • UNN
Prosecutors have sent an indictment to court against Oleg Poberezhniuk, former commander of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade. He is accused of inaction by military authorities, as he did not react to facts of inhumane treatment and torture of subordinate servicemen.
Prosecutors sent an indictment to court against Oleg Poberezhniuk, ex-commander of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who is accused of inaction of military authorities committed under martial law or in a combat situation.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to UNN.
Details
Prosecutors sent an indictment to court against the ex-commander of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is accused of inaction of military authorities, committed under martial law or in a combat situation (Part 4, Article 426 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The investigation established that the ex-commander did not react to facts of inhumane treatment and torture of his subordinate servicemen. Knowing that his subordinate platoon commander from February to July 2024 exceeded his authority and abused subordinate soldiers, the accused did not initiate the issue of bringing the officer to justice. He is currently in custody.
Addition
Servicemen of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told the media about the abuse of soldiers, extortion of money, and nepotism. Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, stated that he sent letters to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to verify the information and conduct an official investigation for further action.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi initiated an inspection of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to reports of abuse of soldiers. The commander of the military unit was suspended for the duration of the inspection.
Subsequently, a criminal proceeding was initiated regarding the illegal actions of the commanders of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade, the commander of the said brigade was notified of suspicion of abuse of power, and searches were conducted.
The investigation established that in the autumn of 2023, he involved four subordinates in the construction of his house in Khmelnytskyi region instead of their service in combat zones. According to documents, the servicemen were at the front line and received salaries and combat payments totaling almost one million hryvnias.
The house is being built in Khmelnytskyi region, in the Slobidsko-Kulchiyivetska community. Media correspondents were there and spoke with the head of the community. He said he was unaware of the situation involving the military in the construction. And the house is being built for the brigade commander's mother.
The investigators, says the head, did not question him on this matter. In December last year, the Ternopil City-District Court remanded Oleg Poberezhniuk, the commander of military unit 211 of the pontoon-bridge brigade, who is suspected of abuse of power, in custody with the possibility of bail of UAH 908,400.