The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) plans to contact the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office with a proposal to combine all criminal proceedings related to the activities of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelya" into one comprehensive investigation.
This was stated by the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation Oleksiy Sukhachev in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, following the publication of the Babel investigation into the deaths and torture at Skel, investigators are investigating several separate criminal proceedings that relate to different episodes related to the regiment.
In particular, the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Poltava currently has five criminal proceedings opened during 2025 — early 2026. The Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation registered another proceeding regarding "Skelya" after the publication of the Babel investigation.
According to Sukhachev, merging the criminal proceedings in Poltava with those being investigated by the Central Office of the State Bureau of Investigation will help to conduct a comprehensive and complete investigation. The investigation will be further conducted by a joint investigative group consisting of employees of the central office and the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation.
The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation also reported that after the merger of the cases, investigators will verify all the facts of non-combat deaths and provide a legal assessment of the actions of each unit commander. In addition, SBI will check how military medical commissions recognized individual servicemen as fit for service, in particular, whether medical diagnoses were properly recorded.
The bureau also confirmed that they have opened a criminal case due to public threats made to a Babel journalist by a “Skelya” serviceman Mykola "Kyianyn" Kharkhan. According to Sukhachev, law enforcement officers will check all the circumstances, since "pressure and threats are unacceptable".
Sukhachev reported that the State Bureau of Investigation is investigating several more criminal cases regarding possible torture in other units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the main task is not only to investigate such cases, but also to prevent their recurrence through interaction with the command and the implementation of preventive measures.
"At the same time, we are trying to communicate with the command and, where possible, recommend that they take certain preventive measures: apply disciplinary practices, initiate personnel changes, rotations," Sukhachev noted.
Whatʼs happening at "Skelya"
On June 23, Babel published a major investigation into the situation in the 425th Assault Regiment “Skelya”. We interviewed more than 30 witnesses, mostly relatives of those mobilized to “Skelya”, as well as a dozen soldiers from the regiment who escaped or are still serving there. Babel identified 25 deaths in the regiment’s training centers over the past six months, and also described cases of torture and abuse of those undergoing training.
Following the Babel material, the State Bureau of Investigation launched a pre-trial investigation into the facts made public by Babel. The regiment is staffed by a mission from the Ombudsmanʼs Office and a comprehensive commission headed by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On June 24, the commander of the 425th regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Harkavy, was suspended from duty for the duration of the inspection.
On July 7, Babel discovered seven more deaths of mobilized soldiers during exercises in Skela. Six of them, like the previous 25, occurred within six months — from the end of autumn 2025 to the spring of 2026. One — in the summer of last year.
Most of the mobilized soldiers died after spending less than a month in the regiment. In total, from the end of autumn last year to the spring of 2026, the editorial office recorded 31 deaths.
The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation Oleksiy Sukhachev stated that before the Babel material, the State Bureau of Investigation had not received information about possible torture in “Skelya” either from the command or from other services.
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