The Fortechny District Court of the city of Kropyvnytskyi took into custody without bail two servicemen of the medical company of the "Skelya" regiment, who are suspected of torturing their comrades.
This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
According to the investigation, in May 2026, two servicemen were discharged from the hospital for violating the regime and returned to the unitʼs medical unit. After that, the two servicemen decided to "punish" them themselves.
They beat both men and then locked them in an outbuilding where they continued to abuse them. One of the victims fainted. He was taken to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury, a broken nose, and other injuries.
Another soldier, according to the State Bureau of Investigation, was illegally detained for almost 24 hours. He was later also hospitalized with a head injury, numerous bruises, and hematomas.
Both suspects were detained. They are charged with torture and violation of the statutory rules of relations between servicemen. They face up to 12 years in prison.
Whatʼs happening in "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. On July 7, Babel revealed seven more deaths of mobilized soldiers during exercises at “Skelya”.
After the Babel material, the State Bureau of Investigation launched a pre-trial investigation. The regiment is staffed by a mission of 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 June 25, a serviceman from “Skelya” Mykola “Kyianyn” Kharkhan recorded a video threatening Babel. Commenting on this situation, communications officer from “Skelya” Oleksiy Bratushchak stated that threats against journalists are unacceptable, but servicemen also have the right to freedom of speech.
Babel appealed to the State Bureau of Investigation because of these threats, but they refused to register the proceedings. At the same time, the head of the State Bureau of Investigation Oleksiy Sukhachev claimed the opposite: that the proceedings had indeed been opened.
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