Ukraine is investigating officers who cheated soldiers and misused defense money. The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) has launched a large operation, "Justice for Soldiers", on 20 August, checking cases of illegal payments to soldiers, the use of soldiers for private work, and corruption, together with the General Staff, the DBR reported.
The operation is part of Ukraine's effort to control its own military and defense spending during the war. Across 21 criminal proceedings, investigators planned 72 searches in various regions and prepared to notify 22 people of suspicion, as part of an internal accountability push.
The biggest category is illegal payments
Most of the cases concern money wrongly paid to soldiers. Twelve proceedings deal with the illegal calculation and receipt of payments by soldiers, with 58 searches conducted and suspicions planned against 20 people, the DBR said.
The bureau has already closed some cases. It finished investigating four more proceedings on illegal payments and plans to send indictments against 16 people to court.
Some commanders used soldiers as private labor
A separate strand targets the misuse of soldiers themselves. Five searches are being conducted in a case involving the illegal use of military labor, in which subordinates, instead of performing military duties, were used for construction, household, and other work in commanders' private interests, the DBR said.
That practice diverts soldiers from the war. Using troops as personal labor for officers takes fighters away from their duties and abuses the command relationship, the kind of misconduct the operation is meant to root out.
The bureau frames it as accountability
The remaining searches target corruption. Nine searches are underway in a case of corruption abuses, with suspicions prepared against two people, and the operation is being conducted with the General Staff and under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office.
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