Police stopped the car of former combatant of the 47th SMBr Shyrshyn because they received information that he was allegedly selling drugs

The police stopped the car of former combatant of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade (SMBr) Oleksandr Shyrshyn because they received information from the Military Law Enforcement Service (MLES) that he was allegedly selling drugs in a military unit in Kharkiv.

This was stated by the head of the Investigation Department in the Kharkiv region Andriy Sharnin in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda (UP).

According to Sharnin, MLES provided the police with information about the serviceman and his car license plate. At the same time, the police emphasized that they were not jumping to conclusions, and the substances found in Shyrshynʼs car were sent for examination.

Law enforcement officers have opened a case of illegal production, storage, or sale of drugs. The police will also check how exactly the information about drug sales appeared in the Military Law Enforcement Service.

On the eve, Shyrshyn stated that during a search of his car, police found drugs, which, according to him, were planted on him. In a comment to Babel, he also suggested that the commander of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment Oleh Shyryayev (with whom he has a long-standing conflict) may be involved in the incident.

Shyrshynʼs conflict with the command

In May 2025, Shyrshyn submitted a report for dismissal and publicly accused the command of "moronic" tasks and unjustified loss of life.

He later said that during the battles in Kursk and on the Ukrainian-Russian border, he repeatedly faced "doomed to failure" tasks that exposed personnel to the risk of unjustified losses. Shyrshyn noted that he created the post as a call to change approaches to management and adequately assess oneʼs capabilities.

In response to Shyrshynʼs statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the creation of a working group to study the circumstances mentioned by the military. They promised to "make appropriate decisions" based on the results of the inspection.

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