Ukraine's Bureau of Investigation: officer's negligence over 'ghost' soldiers cost state 1.6 million hryvnias
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation found that a personnel officer at a military unit in Kirovohrad region negligently kept 60 soldiers, who were actually serving elsewhere, on the food supply list. The state suffered losses exceeding 1.6 million hryvnias.
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), working with the Southern Region specialized defense prosecutor's office, has uncovered negligence by a former military unit official in Kirovohrad region that cost the state more than 1.6 million hryvnias.
What happened
The official responsible was the head of the staff personnel group, an officer tasked with tracking personnel numbers and maintaining service records. From April 2024 through February 2025, he failed to properly oversee the count of servicemen registered for full board supply.
He did not verify documentation confirming whether soldiers sent on assignment were actually receiving food rations, failed to cross-check data with other units, and approved paperwork that kept them on food supply lists. The case involves 60 servicemen who had been sent to Kharkiv region, where they were actually carrying out combat duties and eating at other military units.
Discovery of the violations
The violations were uncovered during an audit, and a subsequent forensic economic examination confirmed the state's losses at more than 1.6 million hryvnias.
The officer has been notified of suspicion of negligent performance of military duties resulting in grave consequences under martial law (Article 425, Part 4 of Ukraine's Criminal Code). A decision on a pretrial restraint measure is pending. He no longer holds his position at the unit.
Investigators are now checking whether other officials at the unit were involved in the scheme, and are trying to determine where the food ordered for the absent servicemen actually ended up and how its supposed "disposal" was documented.
The case emerged as part of a broader operation called "Justice for Soldiers," launched on August 20 by the DBR together with the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office. The operation aims to expose servicemen who are only nominally on duty, illegally receive payments, or effectively work for commanders' private interests. In total, 72 searches are planned across 21 criminal proceedings in various regions of Ukraine.
