Court arrests former commander of Ukraine’s 155th brigade over killing of two civilians

The Rakitnyansky District Court of Kyiv Oblast has arrested former commander of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Stanislav Luchanov for 60 days without the right to post bail, in a case involving the murder of two people.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine.

Luchanov has been charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty and the premeditated murder of two civilians in Kyiv Oblast. He faces up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.

At the court hearing, Luchanov stated that he does not admit guilt and disagrees with the charges brought against him. He also told journalists that he had never seen the brothers who were killed. The prosecutor, for his part, presented the investigation’s version of events: according to it, Luchanov ordered the killing through the battalion commander of the 155th Brigade, Alexei Dolgolenko. One of the victims was shot in the head once, the other eight times.

According to investigators, two residents of the village of Kalinivka in Kyiv Oblast — brothers Maxim and Roman Moseychuk — were taken from their home by armed men in the early hours of June 28. The brothers’ bodies were found in another oblast. Servicemen of the 155th Brigade are named in the case.

Media outlets cite a domestic dispute as a possible motive for the killing: local residents said that the brigade commander’s family or his wife had a prolonged conflict with the brothers. Luchanov himself stated that at the time the crime was committed he was on leave and could not physically have issued such orders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the detention of another suspect in the case on the eve of Luchanov’s arrest. A total of 10 people have been detained in connection with the case, including servicemen and the former brigade commander himself. According to Zelensky, the investigation extends beyond Kyiv Oblast. The Ukrainian leader assured that all actions of those detained would be thoroughly examined and “all those guilty will be held to fair account.”