“So as not to damage the image”: the military ombudsman does not want to publicly discuss violations in the Ukrainian army’s “media-promoted” brigades

Ukraine’s military ombudswoman, Olha Reshetylova, does not want to publicly discuss violations in the Armed Forces’ “media-promoted” brigades so as not to undermine their reputation.

Reshetylova said this during one of her broadcasts.

A journalist asked whether the ombudswoman has any means of influencing such heavily publicized units as the 3rd Assault Brigade, Azov, and Khartiia, which, according to the journalist, receive many complaints regarding violations of servicemen’s rights and heavy losses.

“There are some units that receive a great many complaints. But instead of addressing issues of servicemen’s rights internally, they pay more attention to media campaigns. Do you have any mechanisms to influence this?” the correspondent asked.

Reshetylova replied that such units are “more difficult to work with” and stressed that she does not want to bring these problems into the public sphere.

“We are trying to work on this. It is more difficult than with other units. The issue is also that I do not want to go public with these problems. I understand that the image of any military unit is extremely important for the Defense Forces as a whole… I really do not want to undermine their image, reputation, or public standing,” she said.

As a reminder, media outlets previously reported on a scandal involving fighters from the 3rd Assault Brigade who, under the guise of mobilization, kidnapped and tortured people in Ternopil. Their goal was to obtain ransom from their victims.

A Dutch volunteer who fought in Ukraine also harshly criticized the conditions in the Ukrainian armed forces, speaking about corruption, Colombian mercenaries, and neo-Nazi practices.