Former head of the State Border Service of Ukraine Serhiy Deyneko, suspected of bribery, mobilized

Former head of the State Border Service of Ukraine Serhiy Deyneko has been mobilized. He will head the Third Border Detachment named after Hero of Ukraine Colonel Yevhen Pikus.

This was reported to Babel by the spokesman for the State Border Service of Ukraine Andriy Demchenko.

According to him, based on the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty", Lieutenant General Serhiy Deyneko was called up to serve as the head of the Luhansk Border Guard Unit.

Deyneko will head the Third Border Detachment named after the Hero of Ukraine, Colonel Yevhen Pikus, which he already headed from 2011 to 2014. According to Demchenko, by law, Deynekoʼs release from military service does not limit his service in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine upon mobilization.

He was appointed to a position in a combat brigade because of his "military experience in defending the country and performing tasks by units of the border guard agency," Demchenko said.

What is Serhiy Deyneko suspected of?

On January 22, NABU and SAPO reported that they had exposed top officials of the State Border Service of Ukraine in bribery. According to a source of Babel, Deyneko is one of them, and his house was searched at that time.

According to the investigation, in 2023, a group of suspects organized the illegal smuggling of cigarettes across the Ukrainian border to the EU. Top officials received bribes for the unhindered passage of 68 vehicles. From July to November 2023 alone, they received at least €204 000 — €3 000 for each vehicle.

To conceal the scheme, the criminals used Czech and Austrian-registered cars with fake license plates that resembled diplomatic ones. The passengers were relatives of Ukrainian diplomats in Europe, which allowed them to avoid border checks. Detectives determined that the top officials had previously served with the diplomats, whose relatives later participated in the scheme.

Deyneko was dismissed from military service by order dated February 2. The reason for the dismissal, the spokesman for the State Service of Ukraine for the Armed Forces of Ukraine Demchenko, did not give Babel, but added that Deyneko received serious injuries during service.

• Deyneko was the head of the State Border Service of Ukraine from 2019 until the beginning of 2026. He was then appointed advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs.

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