Employees of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), detained the former commanders, two generals and a colonel, due to whose negligence the enemy was able to seize part of the territory of Kharkiv region in May 2024, the SBI informs.

"Former commanders of the Kharkiv Operational and Tactical Group of Forces, the 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, and the 415th Separate Rifle Battalion of the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, due to their negligent attitude to military service, allowed Russian Federation troops to seize part of the territory of the Lyptsi village territorial community of Kharkiv district," it said in a statement on Monday.

According to the Bureau, the actions of the commanders led to the loss of personnel and weapons and disrupted measures to defend the state border in the area of their responsibility.

The SBI stresses that the brigadier general defined defense positions for the 125th Brigade, which did not correspond to its combat capabilities, moreover, he had other units that could have reinforced these positions.

The commander also made a number of other mistakes, including not fully specified the directions of the main enemy strikes, insufficiently controlled the organization of preparation and conduct of defense actions.

"He did not timely maneuver the forces and means of the grouping, did not organize the support of the brigade's units by artillery and air forces," the SBI said.

The former commander of the 125th Brigade, Lieutenant General, also "underestimated the enemy's capabilities to restore the offensive in the brigade's defense area, inadequately responded to the enemy's build-up of combat capabilities and threats."

In particular, according to the Bureau, he did not ensure the arrangement of combat guard positions, did not take measures to staff the brigade, determined exaggerated combat missions for battalions, did not conduct operational and tactical calculations, did not organize proper equipment of strongholds, engineering barriers, etc.

In addition, according to the SBI, the former brigade commander, having information about the preparation of enemy offensive actions, did not bring it to his subordinates, did not ensure maximum mobilization and presence of all personnel of the brigade, including officers at their positions.

"Already in battle, he did not organize proper fire support of brigade units by artillery; did not ensure the effective use of brigade reserves, interaction of the brigade with other units and did not know the real state of affairs on the battlefield," it said.

The former commander of the 415th Battalion of the 23th Brigade did not organize the defensive battle in the settlements of Strilecha, Chervoni Lyptsi and Slobozhanske, which were in the battalion line of defense, did not determine what objects to include in the strongholds and how to prepare them for protection, ways to counter the underground mine warfare of the enemy, places of equipment of storage facilities and depots.

"During the repulsion of the enemy offensive, he did not report to the senior commander on the results of the defense battle, did not take measures to stop the unauthorized departure of twelve servicemen of the battalion and gave a single combat order in the absence of an order from the senior commander. Also, the former commander ignored and did not fulfill the order of the brigade commander to retake the lost positions," it said.

The SBI stresses that because of these violations, the enemy "seized the positions of the units of the first and second echelon of battalions, which led to the loss of personnel, penetration of the enemy in the defense strip to a distance of up to 10 kilometers in depth and loss of control over part of the territory along the state border of Ukraine."

The Bureau reports that after the detainees are brought to Kyiv, they will be reported on suspicion of a military official's negligent attitude to service committed under martial law, which entailed grave consequences (Part 4 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The former commander of the 415th Battalion will be additionally notified of suspicion of desertion from the battlefield (Article 429 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The sanction of the articles provides for punishment of up to ten years of imprisonment.

It is also planned to apply to the court with a petition to select a preventive measure in the form of detention for the suspects.

Procedural guidance is provided by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO).

An informed law enforcement source told Interfax-Ukraine that it is about Brigadier General Yuriy Halushkin, Lieutenant General Artur Horbenko, and Colonel Illia Lapin.

Earlier, Editor-in-Chief of the Censor publication Yuriy Butusov said on the Telegram channel that the SBI intends to bring suspicion against several military officers: Colonel Dmytro Riumshyn, former Commander of the 155th Anne of Kyiv Brigade; Brigadier General Yuriy Halushkin, former Commander of the Kharkiv Operational and Tactical Groud Of Forces; Lieutenant General Artur Horbenko, former Commander of the 125th Lviv Territorial Defense Brigade as well as the former Deputy Commander of the 125th Brigade.

According to Butusov, Riumshyn was detained in Rivne, where he had arrived to serve in the Zakhid (West) Operational Command reserve battalion.

"Halushkin and Horbenko will receive suspicion for official negligence in connection with the failure of defense and loss of controllability of troops on the Kharkiv axis on May 10, 2024," he said.