Law enforcement officers have detained a military deserter who staged his disappearance. His relatives illegally received over a million hryvnia in state aid, investigators say.
This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
According to the investigation, at the end of August 2023, the serviceman voluntarily left his place of service in the Luhansk region, which he immediately informed his relatives about. He was declared missing in the military unit. The investigation says that the servicemanʼs brother took advantage of this — he offered to stage the disappearance of his husband in order to receive compensation from the state.
According to the State Bureau of Investigation, while the soldier was in hiding, his mother and brother deceived the unit command and submitted documents for compensation as the family of a missing person. From October 2023 to November 2024, they illegally received almost a million hryvnias in state aid.
In addition, the investigation says, the deserterʼs brother took advantage of the situation to resign from the service. He wrote a statement about his relativeʼs disappearance at the front and resigned from the army.
Law enforcement officers found the "missing" man in Ivano-Frankivsk. The soldier, his brother, and his mother were detained — they are currently in custody. The investigation informed them of suspicions of fraud. Additionally, one of the brothers was informed of suspicion of desertion, and the other of evading military service through deception. They face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
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