DBR employees have detained and charged the commander of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for failing to respond to instances of abuse and torture inflicted upon the servicemen under his command. This was reported by the DBR press service.
It has been established that from at least February to July 2024, the brigade commander was aware of numerous instances of torture and other inhumane treatment directed at soldiers by an officer subordinate to him, yet he did not take action or initiate proceedings against the offending officer.
The commander has been charged with the inaction of military authorities under conditions of martial law or in a combat situation (Part 4 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as stated by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Law enforcement officials conducted searches at the commander’s residence. He is currently detained, and a decision is being made regarding the preventive measures to be applied.
Previously, the commander of the 211th Brigade was charged with abuse of power (Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It was found that in the autumn of 2023, he involved four subordinates in the construction of his house in Khmelnytskyi instead of deploying them to combat zones. The soldiers were officially included in an order for deployment to Mykolaiv region, where they allegedly carried out their duties, but in reality, they were not present there. They still received salaries and combat allowances totaling nearly one million hryvnias.
According to available information, the senior lieutenant who beat and tortured subordinate servicemen is the son of the chief of staff of the mentioned military unit and is a close friend of the brigade commander.
The investigation has uncovered numerous instances of the senior lieutenant of the 211th Brigade using unlawful methods of influence against his subordinates.
In particular, in late February 2024, in Dnipropetrovsk region, he beat a soldier for being in a state of alcohol intoxication. After kicking him in the face, the officer did not stop and ordered his subordinates to take the drunken soldier into a room and strip him to humiliate him. The officer then continued to beat the subordinate.
A month later, while in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, the senior lieutenant again assaulted the same soldier and ordered the servicemen to lift the battered man from the ground and tie him to a wooden structure in the shape of a cross. The soldier remained in that position for about four hours.
Another instance of assault on a soldier was recorded. This also occurred in February 2024 in Dnipropetrovsk region. The officer had an argument with one of his subordinates over the publication of a video online, in which another soldier from the brigade spoke about the inadequate living conditions they faced. Following this, the senior lieutenant struck him in the face.
Additionally, in May 2024, in Kharkiv region, he assaulted another subordinate due to dissatisfaction with the way he addressed him informally.