Violations of discipline and cases of bullying in military units are a phenomenon that, unfortunately, occurs not only in the Ukrainian army, but also in the armed forces of many countries of the world, especially during active hostilities. Such a comment was voiced by a military analyst and former deputy platoon commander of the "Aidar" battalion, Yevhen Dyky, on Apostrophe TV , commenting on the situation in the 211th pontoon-bridge brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"I am actually very careful in such matters. Because there will be an investigation. If these facts are confirmed, these are very heavy articles. I am categorically against the fact that we should now decide to find a person guilty of very serious crimes, for which he will be imprisoned for many years, based on one photo of unknown origin and the conversations of deputies and journalists, even without other photo and video evidence," he said.
According to him, the investigation should determine whether the widespread photo, where a soldier was tied to a wooden cross for "punishment", is real or staged.
"If this is true, then it means that one of the commanders not only formally exceeded his rights and powers, but actually turned into a sadist. Every person in war goes through a certain "evolution" towards depopulation. No one comes back from war exactly as he left. Everyone comes back more violent. But someone becomes more violent by 5%, and someone by 500%. And it is very individual. And someone who has become more cruel by 500% can cross those limits, after which this person becomes a criminal, becomes harmful," the expert noted.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that such situations occur in all armies of the world, especially those that are at war.
"Because a person at war is in constant shock, stress and constantly has to kill other people. It is assumed, of course, that an adequate person never forgets that he should kill people only from the opposite side. But in real life, a certain percentage of people always forget about it," said Dykiy.
The scandal in the 211th brigade - what was reported
It will be recalled that the journalists found out about large-scale problems in the 211th pontoon-bridge brigade of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was noted that commanders mock subordinates, demand money, use violence, tie them to a wooden cross, etc. It was also found out that the core of the 211 pontoon-bridge brigade was formed from people connected by long-standing service, friendship or family relationships.
People's deputy of Ukraine, deputy head of the Temporary Investigative Commission for investigating possible violations of Ukrainian legislation in the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuliya Yatsyk, said that in the 211th brigade, servicemen who abused alcoholic beverages were stripped naked and thrown into pits so that they sobered up
She noted that information about the illegal actions of the commanders of the 211th pontoon-bridge brigade was received by the TSK on October 10-12. According to her, the TSC could not investigate these facts, but there was a permanent representative of the SBI who came to the commission's meetings, and this information was known to him.
The SBI has started an investigation into the criminal proceedings regarding the discovery of facts of abuse by the officials of the specified brigade. In particular, possible non-statutory measures of influence and violence against subordinates. Bureau specialists will examine the materials collected during official inspections of the brigade by the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. They will also study reports in the media and social networks regarding abuse of soldiers.
