Soldier and accomplice charged over bribery scheme to facilitate desertion
In Cherkasy region, suspicions were raised against a serviceman of the State Border Guard Service and his accomplice, who, according to the investigation, organized desertion by bribing a commander. The suspects are being held in custody with the possibility of posting bail, the Special Prosecutor's Office for Defense of the Central Region reported on Facebook.
According to the investigation, at the end of June 2026, a serviceman mobilized to one of the border detachments, not wanting to serve, decided to illegally leave the military unit.
To implement his plan, he enlisted the help of a familiar soldier who had previously deserted the unit. The suspects agreed to offer the commander an illegal benefit of three thousand US dollars for the unhindered removal of the soldier outside the unit's deployment area and failure to notify the command of the desertion.
Initially, an acquaintance contacted the military officer and offered a bribe, and later the serviceman personally confirmed his intention to desert and re-offered and promised to transfer the funds, the press service commented.
In July 2026, after the accomplice handed over three thousand US dollars to the commander, who was acting under the control of law enforcement agencies, the last serviceman was taken outside the unit's deployment area. Later, the serviceman got into a friend's car, in which they tried to leave for the Dnipropetrovsk region.
As the press service commented, the men were detained and informed of the suspicions: "The actions of the serviceman were qualified under Part 4 of Article 408, Part 3 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (desertion committed under martial law, offer, promise and provision of an unlawful benefit to an official, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons). The actions of the accomplice were qualified under Part 3 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (offer, promise and provision of an unlawful benefit to an official, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons)."
The suspects were given preventive measures in the form of detention with the possibility of posting bail, the press service added.
If proven guilty in court, the serviceman faces up to twelve years in prison, and his accomplice faces up to eight years with or without confiscation of property.
We also reported that in Poltava, two accountants of a polyclinic are suspected of embezzling almost 13 million UAH.
