Three military personnel suspected of planting drugs on former Ukrainian Armed Forces battalion commander Shirshyn

The prosecutor’s office announced the detention of three military personnel who, according to investigators, planted drugs on the former commander of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Mahura,” Oleksandr Shirshyn. The information was published by the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

The detainees had previously served in law enforcement agencies — which ones exactly is not specified — and at the time of their detention were serving in one of the Defense Forces brigades. According to investigators, they conspired with other as yet unidentified individuals to organize covert surveillance of Shirshyn.

During the night of August 27 to 28, in Kharkiv, the suspects illegally broke into the former battalion commander’s vehicle and planted approximately 30 packets of cannabis and the psychotropic substance PVP. The following day, they passed patrol officers a tip-off claiming that Shirshyn was transporting drugs. His vehicle was stopped on Kooperatyvna Street, after which the planted substances were discovered during a search.

Shirshyn immediately declared the charges a fabrication and stated that he had been under surveillance for an extended period. Law enforcement established the chain of events — from the illegal collection of confidential information to the break-in to the vehicle and the planting of the drugs.

The three detainees have been served with suspicion notices under articles covering illegal entry into a dwelling or other property, violation of privacy, illegal drug trafficking, and the artificial fabrication of evidence to bring a knowingly innocent person to criminal liability.

Shirshyn became well known last year when he publicly criticized the military leadership for “idiotic tasks” that were causing heavy casualties among units, including in the Kursk region. Shortly afterward, he left his position as brigade commander.