The commander of the 211th Brigade was sent to custody with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 908 thousand
Kyiv • UNN
The court has imposed a pre-trial restraint on the commander of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is suspected of using the military to build a private house instead of serving.
The Ternopil City District Court remanded in custody with the possibility of posting UAH 908,400 bail the commander of the military unit of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade, Oleh Poberezhnyuk, who is suspected of abuse of office, UNN reports.
Details
"To apply to the suspect Poberezhniuk a preventive measure in the form of detention, taking Poberezhniuk into custody from the courtroom. The ruling will expire on February 13, 2025. To set bail in the amount of UAH 908,400," the judge said.
"The court imposed a pre-trial restraint on the commander of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - detention with the right to post UAH 908,400 bail," the Prosecutor General's Office reported.
In addition, he was reportedly suspended from duty by his superiors.
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 and 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 unlawful actions of the commanders of the 211th Pontoon and Bridge Brigade, and the commander of the brigade was notified of suspicion of abuse of office.
The investigation found that in the fall of 2023, he engaged four subordinates to build his house in Khmelnytskyi region instead of serving 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. And the house will be for the mother of a brigadier. Investigators, the head said, 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.
