Ukraine’s State bureau of investigation serves notice of suspicion to an officer of the 211th brigade for mistreating soldiers

The commander of one of the platoons of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade has been accused of mistreating soldiers. According to media reports, the individual in question is Senior Lieutenant Vladyslav Pastukh.

The allegations were reported by Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation has uncovered numerous instances where the senior lieutenant used unauthorized disciplinary measures against his subordinates. Specifically, at the end of February 2024, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, he assaulted a soldier who was intoxicated. After kicking the soldier in the face, the officer escalated the situation by ordering his subordinates to take the intoxicated soldier to a room and strip him to humiliate him. He then continued beating the soldier.

A month later, in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, the senior lieutenant assaulted the same soldier again. He then ordered other servicemen to lift the beaten soldier off the ground, place him against a wooden cross-shaped structure, and tie him to it by his hands. The soldier was left in this position for about four hours.

Another incident of soldier abuse was also recorded. This occurred in February 2024 in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The officer had a dispute with one of his subordinates over a video that had been posted online. In the video, another soldier from the brigade described substandard living conditions. Following this, the senior lieutenant intentionally struck the subordinate in the face.

In May 2024, in the Kharkiv region, he assaulted yet another subordinate because the soldier addressed him informally, using the casual pronoun “you.”

The investigation is ongoing to uncover additional instances of violence against soldiers within the brigade.

It is worth noting that after reports of torture and abuse within the brigade surfaced in the media, law enforcement began investigating the matter.

The brigade’s commander, Oleh Poberezhnyuk, was arrested but later released on bail amounting to nearly one million hryvnias.