The State Investigation Agency of Ukraine (D BR) said that a military officer of this country was prosecuted for abusing his power when he sent two subordinates away from the fighting position to work at a bakery run by his wife. According to D BR, the incident lasted nearly two years and benefited both the officers and the two soldiers involved.
This officer is the deputy commander of a unit under the regiment or battalion level. During that time, the two soldiers under their command were still on the payroll of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, even receiving salaries and combat allowances, while in reality they did manual labor at the business establishment of their superior family, including helping with sales and running a bakery. The investigation agency estimated the damage to the state budget at about 100,000 USD.
D BR said that both officers and the two soldiers were prosecuted. One officer was accused of abusing his position, while two subordinates were prosecuted for fraud to evade military service. The incident has raised concerns about the prolonged corruption situation in the Ukrainian army, which is one of the problems that hinder Kiev's efforts to mobilize soldiers in the context of the ongoing war.
According to the results of a survey by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), more than 70% of respondents said that the corruption situation in Ukraine has gotten worse over the past three years, while only 5% said there was an improvement. Experts say that people seeking to avoid military service or bribes to be exempted is a clear manifestation of a declining confidence in the transparency of the national defense system.
