A Military Recruitment Office Serviceman Convicted of Bribery Is Again Involved in a Criminal Case — This Time, Over a Person’s Death

In Lviv, a serviceman from one of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TRC) units was notified of suspicion of beating a mobilized man who later died in hospital. According to investigators, several recruitment center employees beat the victim while he was lying on the floor with his hands cuffed behind his back. The State Bureau of Investigation reported this on October 20, 2026.

According to investigators, the serviceman and other TRC employees punched and kicked the man in the torso and chest. The victim was unable to defend himself. The suspect himself, the SBI says, kicked him at least twice.

After the beating, the man was forcibly taken to a utility room at the TRC in Lviv. An ambulance crew later took him from there. At the hospital, doctors found that the victim had multiple broken ribs, severe lung injuries, and other life-threatening injuries. Despite the doctors’ efforts, the man died.

The serviceman was notified of suspicion of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm resulting in the victim’s death, committed by a group of persons. The case is being investigated under Part 2 of Article 121 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The article carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The court remanded the suspect in custody without the right to bail.

It is particularly noteworthy that this is not the first criminal case involving this serviceman. According to the SBI, in August 2026, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Lviv found him guilty of accepting a bribe in collusion with other individuals. He was then given a sentence not involving imprisonment.

In September, the serviceman became a suspect in a new criminal case concerning the beating of a mobilized man, which ended in the victim’s death. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Investigators are identifying all TRC employees who may have been involved in the beating and establishing the circumstances of the man’s death.

Previously, we reported:

• A man died after mobilization: his body remained in the morgue for almost 12 days — Lubinets calls for an investigation
• Injuries, bruises, and death: what happened to Yevhen Lahunov after mobilization
• Taser, beating, and death: two TRC servicemen to stand trial
• “Bureaucratic difficulties”: the death of a mobilized man at the TRC explained with paperwork, not bruises
• Another death at the TRC: a man found dead in a restroom after being brought in to update his records