Law enforcement officers have exposed a lieutenant colonel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine who demanded a share of servicemen’s rewards for destroyed enemy equipment. This is the first documented case in Ukraine of extorting an unlawful benefit in return for processing such payments.
The Prosecutor General’s Office reported this.
According to the investigation, the suspect held the post of senior officer in the group responsible for studying and implementing operational experience within the unmanned systems command of one of the Armed Forces units. He was part of a working group that confirmed the results of strikes against enemy equipment during combat operations.
Using his official position, the suspect decided to set up a systematic scheme to obtain unlawful benefits from servicemen in subordinate units. In exchange for the unhindered processing of documents and the issuing of orders required to receive the payments, he demanded a portion of the troops’ rewards.
In September 2026, during a meeting in Pavlohrad, the suspect demanded 20% of the total reward amount for destroyed enemy equipment from the deputy commander of one of the units.
In total, the unit’s servicemen were due to receive about UAH 2 million. From this sum, the officer demanded UAH 380,000 in return for ensuring the timely processing of the paperwork for the payments.
The court ordered the serviceman held in custody with the option of posting bail of UAH 998,000. A motion has also been filed to seize a mobile phone and a Lexus car.