Military pilot suspected of evading service due to participation in “MasterChef”

A military pilot is suspected of evading service. This concerns a senior lieutenant — the navigator of a transport aviation squadron of one of the military units, a native of Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

This is stated in a ruling of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv.

The investigating judge of the Pechersk court granted permission to access the mobile phone data of a servicewoman suspected of evading service and possibly unlawfully receiving monetary allowances.

According to the pre-trial investigation, in 2025 she was undergoing inpatient treatment at a military medical facility. However, investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation established that from April to August 2025, the servicewoman was in fact in Kyiv and the surrounding region, where she took part in filming the television cooking show “MasterChef.”

According to the investigation’s version, the hospitalization may have been arranged in order to avoid performing official duties.

At the same time, despite her absence from the medical facility, the woman continued to be paid monetary allowances, bonuses, and extra payments.

Media report that this concerns Viktoriia Kuznetsova, a participant in Season 16 of the show “MasterChef.” On the project’s website she is listed as a 27-year-old native of Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

It was also noted that she is a former servicewoman and worked as a navigator in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As a reminder, in Dnipropetrovsk region the SBU detained the head of a district military medical commission who is suspected of issuing men fake certificates of unfitness for service. For each certificate, the medical commission allegedly extorted at least $2,500.

Earlier, the SBI uncovered a multi-million corruption scheme involving the procurement of low-quality food for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.