SBU Exposes Draft Evasion and Bribery Schemes Across Military Units

The Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the State Bureau of Investigation and the National Police, has uncovered new schemes for evading military service and mobilization in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As a result of a series of coordinated operations, authorities detained the organizers of the schemes, who either transferred military personnel to “rear” positions or helped draft evaders avoid mobilization through forged documents.

In the Chernihiv region, a commander was exposed for transferring mobilized soldiers from combat units to the Chernihiv garrison in exchange for money. Investigators documented that the suspect arranged “rear” assignments for three servicemen and earned nearly 2 million hryvnias through the scheme.

In the Zhytomyr region, a brigade commander was detained for fictitiously employing acquaintances and relatives in his unit. These “mobilized” individuals did not perform military service duties, did not report to their units, and remained at their places of residence. The official allegedly confiscated the bank cards of his “subordinates” and appropriated their salaries. Through this scheme, he reportedly obtained 370,000 hryvnias.

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According to Zhitomir.info, the suspect is former commander of the 115th Territorial Defense Brigade, Colonel Serhiy Kostiuk, who was officially appointed in November 2025. He left the brigade on May 6, and command was transferred to Volodymyr Boyko.

In the Khmelnytskyi region, a deputy commander of a Ukrainian Armed Forces training center was charged with transferring mobilized soldiers to rear military units in exchange for bribes of $5,000. According to investigators, the suspect promised to provide recommendation letters and use his personal connections with military unit commanders to facilitate the transfers.

In the Lviv region, a contract border guard serviceman was caught red-handed allegedly offering draft evaders removal from military registration for $16,000. To carry out the scheme, he reportedly involved officials from the Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC), who, in exchange for bribes, falsely classified men liable for military service as medically unfit for duty.

The suspects were notified of suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including abuse of power, influence peddling, aiding and abetting the misappropriation of property, and evasion of military service. The investigation is ongoing. If convicted, the suspects face up to 10 years in prison.