A lieutenant colonel from the Lviv region sent soldiers to work at a car repair shop instead of serving their military duty.
The Bogunsky District Court of Zhytomyr sentenced a battalion commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a native of Zhovkva, Lviv region, to two years of service restriction for organizing the work of four military personnel at a private auto repair shop instead of serving. He was also found guilty of concealing assets and funds exceeding 9 million UAH in a declaration for 2024 year.
A lieutenant colonel in the Ukrainian Ground Forces, originally from Zhovkva, in the Lviv region, received a sentence from the Bogunsky District Court in Zhytomyr for organizing the work of four military personnel at a private auto repair shop instead of performing their official duties.
According to the investigation, the colonel, while serving as the head of logistics for the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Airborne Assault Command, reached an agreement in January 2023 with a familiar, the director and co-owner of "V Group-auto," to involve four military personnel in work at a car repair shop in Zhytomyr. Before mobilization, these military personnel had been working at this company. The commander of a military unit was also involved in the scheme, concealing the absence of subordinates and falsely reporting their presence on duty. As a result, the military personnel repaired cars for customers of the car repair shop, while continuing to receive financial compensation from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In addition, the colonel was found guilty of providing false information in his declaration for the year 2024. Specifically, he failed to disclose that he owned half of a maintenance station with an area of 588,1 square meters in the village of Ivaniwka, in the Zhytomyr region, which was valued at 8,67 million hryvnias. The military also did not declare more than 404 thousand hryvnias in bank accounts and stated incorrect salary and pension amounts. The total amount of false information in the declaration was 9 199 395,55 hryvnias, which exceeds 2500 subsistence minimums for working-age individuals as of the date the declaration was submitted.
In September, the colonel reached an agreement with the prosecutor regarding a guilty plea. The court considered the military's state awards, including the Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree, his participation in combat operations, the absence of prior criminal convictions, and positive performance reviews. The court also took into account that he had transferred 400 thousand UAH to the needs of one of the National Guard units. The colonel was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, which were replaced with two years of service restrictions with a deduction of 15% from his salary going to the state. In addition, the defendant, who was sentenced to a two-year ban on engaging in activities related to the verification of declarations, was also ordered to pay almost 46 thousand hryvnias for expert evaluations. The verdict can still be appealed in the appellate court.