A public humiliation in front of the ranks: the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) detained a serviceman who tortured a comrade

The DBR press service reported on May 7, 2026, the detention of a serviceman of one of the military units stationed in the Dnipropetrovsk region. According to the bureau, the man severely beat his comrade in front of the formation, and after that unlawfully left the unit’s location and hid from law enforcement for several days.

After the publicity, DBR officers, with the assistance of the VSP, the National Police and the State Border Guard Service, established the serviceman’s whereabouts and detained him. According to the investigation, despite his lowest military rank and status, the man tried to impose his own ‘rules’ on the personnel. He wanted other soldiers to unquestioningly follow his orders, and to this end decided to hold a demonstrative lineup.

The incident occurred on May 1. According to the DBR, the serviceman on his own initiative organized a formation of personnel, called one of the soldiers out of the ranks—toward whom he had a personal grudge—and began beating him. From numerous blows the victim lost consciousness. After that the attacker tied his hands with plastic cable ties. When the serviceman regained consciousness, the beating continued. Attempts by other fighters to stop the violence were aggressively suppressed by the suspect. At the same time he ordered one of the soldiers to film everything that was happening on his phone. After the incident the victim was hospitalized. He received necessary medical care, and his condition is currently assessed as satisfactory.

After the act the serviceman fled the unit and hid from law enforcement. DBR officers, in cooperation with the VSP of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other law enforcement agencies, established his whereabouts and detained him.

It is currently being decided whether to notify him of suspicion of torture, desertion and violation of the statutory rules of relations between servicemen in the absence of subordinate relations. This concerns Part 1 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 4 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Part 2 of Article 406 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The penalties under these articles provide for up to 12 years of imprisonment.

“Any manifestations of cruelty and humiliation within the military environment are unacceptable, especially during war, when servicemen must act as a single organism. The DBR responds promptly to such crimes and ensures that those responsible are brought to justice,” the DBR emphasized.

Earlier we wrote:

• Soldiers held the defense, but money was demanded from them: battalion commander detained on bribery charges
• “Wolves Da Vinci” fighters beat a young man and shoved him into a trunk: battalion acknowledged the incident
• A serviceman of the TCC was cut: attackers may face life imprisonment
• Returned from SZZ — and immediately to combat? The General Staff explained where soldiers are most often sent
• They left and returned: in Mykolaiv region more than 2,000 servicemen from SZZ are back in formation