The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) opened criminal proceedings against possible official negligence, which could have caused the death of 20 soldiers of the 23rd separate small rifle battalion. The investigation covers events that took place in Lyman and Kharkiv directions in 2023–2024.
What caused the investigation?
According to the DBR, the battalion command did not rotate more than a year and a half , which led to significant exhaustion of the military .
Instead of replenishing the personnel, the battalion continued to throw tasks on the assault , despite the critical fatigue of the fighters.
The result is more than 20 dead and 80 wounded .
Former Deputy Commander of the 23rd Battalion, Military 159th OMBR Sergey Gorbatiuk became one of the initiators of the investigation. He notes that volunteers, who since February 2022 performed combat missions, found themselves in a hopeless situation .
is a battalion of volunteers who went to the front in 2022 and honorably performed their duties.
The warnings that ignored
The 23rd battalion's military has repeatedly reported the critical moral and psychological state of the unit to the leadership of the 63rd and 118th separate mechanized brigades. But there was no reaction to the appeal.
In October 2024, Gorbatiuk filed an official appeal to the DBR for the alleged excess of power and official negligence of the command .
The result: after the conversion of Gorbatyuk himself, they were sent without explanations on a business trip and tried to transfer to another unit.
Who will answer?
The DBR investigation concerns a brigade general under whose leadership was the 23rd Battalion. He is charged with negligent attitude towards the service in martial law (Article 425 of the Criminal Code), which provides up to 8 years in prison .
Context: Not the first case of investigations against commanders
Recall that in May 2024, the DBR and the SBU detained two generals and colonels suspected of negligence, through which the enemy was able to capture part of Kharkiv region .
An investigation into the 23rd Battalion can be another precedent when the responsibility for unjustified losses will be held by high-ranking military command .
