Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty has instructed the Military Law Enforcement Service (VSP) to conduct an official inquiry into the 225th Assault Regiment in connection with the publication of information regarding alleged criminal orders and cases of violence in the regiment, reported war correspondent for BIHUS.Info Anna Kalyuzhna.
"New Commander-in-Chief of the AFU Mykhailo Drapaty instructed the VSP to conduct an official inquiry into the 225th Assault Regiment after the release of my report. They will check the probability of giving criminal orders and cases of violence in the regiment," she wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
"In case of confirmation of facts of illegal actions, those responsible will be held accountable in accordance with current legislation," writes the Main Communications Directorate in response to my query about whether orders were ever given to disarm military personnel or shoot at them in case of retreat by the leadership of the Armed Forces, and whether the General Staff of the AFU was aware of cases of cruel treatment against military personnel in the regiment. Regarding the questions raised in my query, I quote: "a detailed analysis of all facts and documents is being carried out," notes Kalyuzhna.
Kalyuzhna attached a scanned copy of the response to her request to the post.
"As of now, this is the state’s only official reaction to the investigation. I am unaware of profile law enforcement agencies opening criminal proceedings based on the facts voiced by witnesses and victims in the report," she noted.
In Kalyuzhna’s investigation for Texty.org.ua, it is stated that military personnel of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment of the AFU and their relatives reported threats of using weapons during unauthorized abandonment of positions, beatings, detention in "pits," and "barrier troops." The author collected materials over the course of half a year. Among her interlocutors were several dozen people: military personnel of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment (current and those hiding from prosecution after going AWOL), military personnel from other units, and relatives of missing persons.
Kalyuzhna, who since the beginning of the full-scale war has been in almost all hotspots as a war correspondent, emphasized that such violations of personnel rights have been recorded only in individual units and are not common practice in the Ukrainian military. In the report, the journalist cited testimonies of interlocutors regarding the illegal detention of military personnel in so-called "pits," beatings, tying to a "tree of truth," and threats of execution by firing squad in the 225th Regiment.
Commander of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment Oleh Shyryayev denies the existence of "pits" at the regiment’s bases.
