Head of military recruitment office arrested for beating servicemember with bat
The Rivne City Court has ordered the arrest of the head of the Rivne Oblast military recruitment center, who physically assaulted a subordinate soldier, on July 28, according to the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR).
On the eve of July 27, the official was
informed of the charges against him for assaulting the subordinate soldier, and
subsequently, he was apprehended.
An investigation revealed that this
official, along with the director of the district recruitment office, attacked
a man with a bat and compelled him to “beg for forgiveness” on his knees. The
entire incident was recorded on a mobile phone.
Searches were carried out at the suspect's
premises, leading to the discovery of the aforementioned bat and other
incriminating evidence, law enforcement said.
If found guilty, the individual could face
up to 12 years of imprisonment under the article on the abuse of power or
official authority by a military official during wartime (part 5 of article
426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Media reports have identified the accused
official as Serhii Lutsiuk.
On July 23, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
instructed the urgent establishment of a commission to conduct inspections of
all military recruitment offices in all oblasts of Ukraine, aiming to prevent
any actions that would tarnish the reputation of the state and the memory of
the heroes who sacrifice their lives on the frontline.
On July 25, Zelenskyy revealed the
“disturbing results” of the inspection, stating that “Today, some preliminary
results of inspections from other enlistment offices, besides the former Odesa
one, were presented to me. And the findings are distressing. Of course, law
enforcement will handle them appropriately, and society will be informed of
everything.”
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