Scandal in the 211th Brigade: the commander of one of the military units is under suspicion.

The investigators of the police in the Ternopil region have reported suspicions against the commander of one of the military units for abuse of office. This concerns the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces Support, which has become embroiled in a scandal.

This information was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the press service of the police.

According to sources from RBK-Ukraine, the suspect is Colonel Oleg Volodymyrovych Poberezhniuk, the commander of military unit A7147.

The suspect involved four servicemen in the construction of his own house in the Khmelnytskyi region. They were officially included in the order for deployment to the combat zone in the Mykolaiv region, however, the soldiers were at home, receiving salaries and combat payments.

"The total amount of damage to the state is almost one million hryvnias. The suspect has been notified of the suspicion regarding the abuse of office - he faces up to 6 years in prison," the police stated.

Additionally, the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) is conducting an investigation into possible instances of unlawful measures and violence used by officials of the 211 Pontoon-Bridge Brigade against their subordinates.

Furthermore, the State Bureau of Investigations is conducting a pre-trial investigation into the criminal proceedings to identify possible instances of unlawful influence and violence by officials of the 211 Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against their subordinates (part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code).

The sanctions for this article provide for imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years.

What is known about the loud scandal in the 211th brigade

It should be noted that yesterday, December 16, journalists from UP published an investigation detailing corruption, extortion, and abuse against soldiers in the 211 Pontoon-Bridge Brigade, stationed in the Ternopil region.

According to the publication, the brigade's leadership beat soldiers and demanded money, threatening to send them "to the meat grinder." One serviceman was tied to a wooden cross and physically abused.

Journalists reported the day before that the commander of the brigade is Colonel Oleg Poberezhniuk, and his godson was the commander of one of the platoons in the first battalion of the brigade. He is accused of abusing the brigade's soldiers and extorting money from them.

The material was responded to yesterday by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They stated that a commission from the Military Law Enforcement Service would be sent to the 211 brigade to investigate possible instances of abuse against soldiers.

In turn, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov announced that the Main Inspection of the Ministry of Defense will verify these facts and announced the creation of the position of military ombudsman, who will focus on protecting the rights of servicemen.