The commander of the 155th separate mechanized brigade Stanislav Luchanov is being sought after his subordinates were detained on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering two residents of the Kyiv region.
Hromadske sources in the Ukrainian Defense Forces and law enforcement agencies reported that on the night of June 27-28, seven people broke into the yard of two brothers in the Kyiv region and took them away in an unknown direction. Relatives of the kidnapped men said that their whereabouts are currently unknown.
According to Babelʼs sources, the men were two men born in 1990 and 1991, residents of the village of Kalynivka, Bila Tserkva district, who were taken to Dnipropetrovsk region by Luchanovʼs subordinates. Two Babel sources confirmed that they were killed there.
During the investigation, law enforcement officers exhumed two bodies, which were previously believed to belong to the deceased.
A pre-trial investigation is underway under articles of intentional murder and unlawful deprivation of liberty or kidnapping. Among the nine detained servicemen is the commander of the 155th brigade battalion, Senior Lieutenant Oleksiy Dolholenko.
The OC "North" reported that the persons involved in the case were suspended from their duties. They are cooperating with investigators. As for Luchanov, the OC "North" confirmed that he left his place of service without permission. He is currently being sought.
They added that law enforcement officers are already conducting investigative actions regarding the events related to the brigade, and the command is providing comprehensive support to the investigation.
According to Babelʼs sources, the crime could have been related to the fact that the brigade commanderʼs wife was allegedly insulted by unidentified individuals. After that, he ordered eight subordinate soldiers to punish the culprits. Then they kidnapped the men and killed them.
Babel reached out to the National Police for comment, but has not received a response as of yet.
It should be noted that Stanislav Luchanov led the 155th separate mechanized brigade in February 2026. Before that, he was the chief of staff of the 425th separate assault regiment "Skelya", about the torture and murders in which Babel recently conducted a major investigation.
UPD at 19:15: The head of the public organization "Hromadsky Kontrol Kyivshcyna" Maksym Zakablukovsky reported in a comment to hromadske that the court has already imposed preventive measures on eight defendants in the case. They were sent to custody for 60 days.
The court session was held without public access. Some of the suspects stated that they acted on orders from the command. And the battalion commander, Oleksiy Dolgolenko, refused to name the person who ordered it.
Among those detained was also the chief sergeant of the 155th Motorized Rifle Brigade — according to the activist, he was identified as the organizer who allegedly led the military.
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