Skelia abuse allegations Probe and official responses

Jun 23

TSN relays military ombudsperson Reshetylova saying abuse at the 425th Skelia Assault Regiment's training grounds has been known for over a year without accountability or personnel decisions. Her office and military-law-enforcement specialists identified instructors the previous year; they are barred from personnel work but unpunished despite her appeal to the prosecutor general. She estimates about 2,000 personnel with drug addictions. Lubinets sent monitors and contacted the SBI, which opened a pretrial investigation after Babel's report. TSN relays Babel's then-current figure of at least 26 recruit deaths over six months, mostly certified as pneumonia, and witness allegations of beatings, confinement, mined perimeters, punishment of escape attempts and denied medical or substitution therapy. It retains the command's denial or description of allegations as exaggerated. The recap returns to Reshetylova's criticism. These are allegations and official responses, not adjudicated findings.

Babel published an investigation of recruit deaths and alleged abuse in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment, Skala. TSN says Babel documented at least 26 deaths in six months, most certificates citing pneumonia, and witness allegations of beatings, confinement, punishment of escape attempts, mined perimeters, denied care and torture. The command denies or calls the allegations exaggerated and says 18 deaths occurred in hospital or en route. Journalist Kateryna Lykhohliad describes two months' work, 30 witnesses and documents, calls for review, and gives her personal concern about oversight of a reportedly 13,000-person unit. These are allegations and responses, not adjudicated findings.