Death of a soldier from Mykolaiv region and 25 more cases: an investigation into the "Skelya" regiment

From the end of 2025 to the spring of 2026, at least 26 service members of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelia” died among the regiment’s recruits. According to journalists, these cases were not related to combat operations.

This is reported in an investigation by the publication “Babel”, published on June 23.

Journalists established that most of the soldiers died shortly after mobilization from pneumonia, cardiovascular diseases, and other health problems. At the same time, relatives of some of the deceased claim that medical assistance was provided to them with delays. In several cases, families also suspect possible violence during training.

One of the deceased was 34-year-old Vitaliy Saltan from Kropyvnytskyi. He was mobilized at the end of January 2026, and less than a month later the man died in a hospital from pneumonia.

The soldier’s mother and wife told TSN journalists that Vitaliy had a high temperature and a severe cough for a long time, but allegedly he was not allowed to go to the hospital until the last moment. According to relatives, similar symptoms were observed in some of his comrades.

Another described case concerns 50-year-old Dmytro Koval from Volyn, who died two weeks after arriving at the unit. His wife stated that she saw numerous bruises and injuries on her husband’s body. Former service members who trained with him also told journalists about suspected brutal treatment.

The investigation paid particular attention to 32-year-old Volodymyr Tsukanov from Mykolaiv region. He was mobilized to the “Skelia” regiment on January 15, 2026, and on February 11 he died in a hospital. The official cause of death was stated as pulmonary-cardiac failure. At the same time, the forensic medical examination recorded a blunt chest injury and multiple rib fractures.

According to the investigation, on January 20 Tsukanov, along with other recruits, was transferred to the 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsyubailo. The investigation believes that the serviceman was beaten that day.

1st OShP.

1st OShP did not respond to Babel’s request regarding Volodymyr Tsukanov. The investigation so far has not charged anyone except the junior sergeant of “Skelia”. The accused, through his lawyer, gave Babel a different version. He says he did not beat the recruit, but only neutralized him when the recruit grabbed a guard’s weapon: “I just ran up, jumped and knocked the weapon out of his hands. And I fell together with him. I did not hit him with fists or feet.” And his left leg, which, according to the investigation, he used to kick Volodymyr, he allegedly injured on the rifle during the incident. He hit it so hard that he was hospitalized and underwent surgery. When asked why he admitted guilt, Anatoliy answered: “I got confused.”

Meanwhile, in “Skelia” itself they initially denied that the suspect in the beating was from their regiment at all: “We know nothing about the arrested sergeant of ‘Skelia’ who is suspected of beating him. If such a person exists, then he is a sergeant from 1st OShP, not ‘Skelia’.” When the editorial office named the suspect’s surname, the regiment acknowledged that he had indeed served with them — there they retold the version about drugs. It should be recalled that recruits in the regiment are searched by being stripped naked. How drugs could have been found on the deceased is unclear.

Volodymyr Tsukanov was drug-dependent. In recent years the man cared for his paralyzed mother; she died last year. Their father died immediately after her. Volodymyr’s closest person — his sister Alona — lives far away. Soon after their parents’ deaths, the man tried once again to quit drugs, Alona says. So at first, when her brother was mobilized, she even thought it was for the better.

“I didn’t think I would find him in the morgue”, — Alona told journalists.

The woman wants not only for the perpetrator of the beating to be punished, but also for an investigation into how her brother was provided medical care in the other unit.

Volodymyr contacted his sister by video call twice. The first time he said he had been beaten:

“He said he first ended up with complete degenerates who beat him badly, treated him like a dog, ‘but now I’m with good guys, everything is fine, don’t worry’”.

The second time he said they told him he had broken ribs. She did not hear from him again.

Another case concerns 38-year-old Vitaliy Karat from Ivano-Frankivsk region. He was mobilized on February 25, and on March 14 he died in a hospital.

The regiment stated that the soldier attempted to leave the unit without permission. During searches he was allegedly found on a tall pine tree, from which he fell while trying to climb down.

Regiment commander Andriy Suray claims that the man was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and a fracture of one rib. However, after his death the examination revealed much more damage, including a chest injury and multiple rib fractures.

The soldier’s sister, Olesya Piskunova, is convinced that her brother was subjected to violence. According to her, before his death he repeatedly spoke about beatings and worsening health.

After the publication of the investigation, the command of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment stated that each case of death should be considered individually, and conclusions must be based on documents, examinations, and the results of the official investigation.

The unit noted that 18 of the 26 mentioned service members died in hospitals or on the way to medical facilities. The regiment links most of the deaths to illnesses and the generally unsatisfactory health condition of the mobilized personnel.

The command also emphasized that the regiment does not conduct mobilization itself, but receives reinforcements from territorial recruitment centers after positive conclusions from military medical commissions.

“Skelia” rejected accusations of systemic violence, but acknowledged that isolated cases of non-statutory relations may occur. The command assured that it cooperates with law enforcement agencies and the Office of the Military Ombudsman, and after the publication will carry out an additional analysis of the raised issues and strengthen response to service members’ complaints.

The regiment also called not to draw final conclusions until checks and investigative actions are completed.

Mass complaints about “Skelia” began to appear at the end of 2025. And at the beginning of last year the 425th Separate Assault Battalion was scaled up to a regiment. However, “Skelia” is now much larger than a regiment. Citing its large size, they say: the 26 deaths that Babel counted is not many. However, that figure is only what the editorial office managed to collect; the regiment does not disclose its real losses on the training grounds. And the Office of the Military Ombudsman says: there are more deaths in the regiment. If you compare “Skelia” with other units, the 425th OShP also leads.

According to the representative of the Office of the Military Ombudsman Ruslan Tsyhankov, the share of non-combat deaths in the “Skelia” regiment is higher than in some other units, although there is no significant gap from overall figures. One of the main problems he named was the level of medical support.

“The percentage of deaths not related to combat operations is proportionally larger in ‘Skelia’. But there isn’t a huge gap. First and foremost, the issue of medical support plays a role,” he said.

Overall, among the deceased:

• Volodymyr Tsukanov, 32 years old;
• Dmytro Koval, 50 years old;
• Vitaliy Saltan, 34 years old;
• Oleksandr Semenov, 35 years old;
• Maksym Skipа, 37 years old;
• Oleksandr Isaiev, 42 years old;
• Serhiy Chernoivan, 36 years old;
• Serhiy Tabatskyi, 38 years old;
• Vadym Polyvany, 49 years old;
• Dmytro Shkolyarskyi, 34 years old;
• Serhiy Holubov, 41 years old;
• Andriy Cherednichenko;
• Oleksandr Kovalenko, 32 years old;
• Vyacheslav Hekalo, 37 years old;
• Dmytro Ivanchenko, 42 years old;
• Roman Kozharko, 45 years old;
• Denys Bahriy-Shakhmatov, 38 years old;
• Vitaliy Karat, 38 years old;
• Vasyl Voychuk, 52 years old;
• Vasyl Tsyurko, 41 years old;
• Yaroslav Mokryi, 53 years old;
• Petro Danyltsiv, 52 years old;
• Vyacheslav Borysov, 31 years old;
• Vitaliy Batura, 43 years old;
• Ivan Terentyev, 46 years old;
• Volodymyr Bielas, 47 years old.

At the same time, he emphasizes: the General Staff lacks personalized records. That is, military units submit only numbers there, not names, which makes the data difficult to verify.

By the number of complaints from service members, the Office currently has over 9,000; “Skelia” also leads — 5.1 percent of complaints. But this concerns not only training centers, but the regiment overall. In second place is the 225th OShP — 3.1 percent. This statistic should be adjusted for the fact that in other training centers people can much more often get in touch.

“This is the key point I constantly make. These numbers are those who managed to get through, who had the opportunity. So when we publish statistics, it looks roughly the same everywhere. But in my head I understand that in reality — it’s not,” says the representative of the Office of the Military Ombudsman.

Previously we wrote:

• Death after the medical commission: he was supposed to be taken to the hospital, but ended up at the assembly point
• 18 days without contact and with broken ribs: the ombudsman reported violations at the Mykolaiv TCC
• People with mental disorders and disabilities at TCCs: Lubinets released the results of the inspection