Officers from the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), with the assistance of the military unit’s command, have issued a notice of suspicion against two servicemen from the Skelia regiment’s medical company, who, according to investigators, beat and illegally detained two fellow soldiers in Kirovohrad region, the SBI reports.
"It has been established that in May 2026, two servicemen were discharged from the hospital for violating established regulations and sent to the unit’s medical unit. After this, the suspects decided to ‘punish’ them themselves for their breach of discipline," the Bureau said on its website on Tuesday.
According to the agency, the servicemen inflicted numerous blows on the victims and then locked them in an outbuilding, where the abuse continued.
According to the report, one of the victims lost consciousness and was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury, a broken nasal bone, and other injuries.
"The other victim was illegally detained for almost another day. He was subsequently taken to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury, multiple bruises, and hematomas," the State Bureau of Investigations noted.
Both defendants have been detained. They have been charged with torture and violation of military regulations governing relations between military personnel, involving beatings and abuse of several individuals (Part 2 of Article 127 and Part 3 of Article 406 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Penalties under these articles carry a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison. The question of whether to place the suspects in pretrial detention is currently being decided.
The pretrial investigation is ongoing.
"As part of the investigation, SBI investigators are also reviewing individual reports of possible mistreatment of military personnel at the regiment’s bases and training areas," the agency noted.
Kirovohrad Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region is overseeing the proceedings.
Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, SBI Director Oleksiy Sukhachev assured that the Bureau’s investigators would provide a proper legal assessment of the actions of all commanders of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia as part of the investigation. Journalists’ allegations of possible illegal actions would also be addressed.
As reported, in June, the publication Babel published an investigation into the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia. According to the publication, at least 25 recruits from the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia died between late 2025 and spring 2026, and these deaths were not related to combat. Relatives of some of the deceased claim delays in providing medical care and possible violence.
Immediately after the publication, the State Bureau of Investigations announced that it had launched a pretrial investigation into allegations made public in the media regarding possible illegal actions against service members of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia.
SBI investigators entered the relevant data into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of power or official authority by a military official, committed under martial law, resulting in grave consequences.
Later, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed Interfax-Ukraine that Yuriy Harkavy, commander of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia, had been suspended from duty pending investigations into the information released in the media.
Andriy Suray, head of the civil-military cooperation group of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia, confirmed the deaths among recruits and noted that each case is being investigated.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky called the media coverage of the deaths of servicemen in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia shameful and blamed it on individuals whose actions diminish the achievements of both the regiment itself and the assault troops as a whole. On July 21, Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reported that the Ombudsman’s Office had not yet completed its investigation into allegations of abuse of soldiers in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia, but that one criminal case had already been opened.
