Comfortable studio of one of the Cherkassy TV channels. Opposite the journalist sits a pixelated, respectable “three-star” serviceman. When asked where Cherkasy region ranks among other regions in terms of the number of mobilized people, the officer snapped with a slight smile on his lips: “Everything is fine with us.”
The head of the Cherkasy Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCC and SP), Colonel Alexander Ustimenko, turned out to be not a very talkative military man.
His statement was made in mid-February 2024, and five months after that he received suspicion under the articles “negligent attitude towards military service” and “excess of power or official authority by a military official.”
According to the pre-trial investigation conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation, the mobilization campaign failed in the Cherkasy region. Starting from August 2023, local TCCs and joint ventures barely scraped together up to 40-50% of the plan. This shortage had a negative impact on the formation of individual military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which “caused distrust of the civilian population in the TCC SP, discredited the mobilization process as a whole, and also contributed to the formation of a negative image of military service and undermining its authority both among military personnel and in society as a whole.” , the investigation believes.
The shortage of military personnel in the Cherkasy region had a negative impact on the formation of certain units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and discredited the mobilization process,” the case file says / extract from the court registry
"Valuable worker, don't touch him"
As journalists found out, the State Bureau of Investigation has now reported suspicions to seven colonels responsible for recruiting conscripts into the army. The highest position is the head of the personnel department of the headquarters of the operational command “North” of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
According to law enforcement officers, this official “excused” a person liable for military service, who was wanted, from mobilization. Last October, the suspected colonel sent photographs of his military ID to his subordinate and set the task: “Drabovsky department. Valuable worker in production. Don't touch him." The order of the superior officer was carried out: the “valuable” person liable for military service received a deferment from mobilization until May 2024.
Law enforcement officers attribute similar manual control, which negatively affected mobilization indicators, to the head of the Cherkasy regional TCC and joint venture, Colonel Alexander Ustimenko. As recorded in the case materials, in November Ustimenko met with the security chief of Cherkassygaz JSC in his own office. The man came to the military man to put in a good word for the workers who were applying for a “reservation.”
“...and those specialist people whom we take to the branch, I ask them to book, so that they are not touched while we book them... Well, at least a month,” the representative of Cherkassygaz begged for indulgence from the head of the Cherkasy TCC and JV.
“I give it three weeks. Enough?" - asked Colonel Ustimenko. To which I received an approving confirmation from the “messenger” of the gas workers.
In addition, according to the pre-trial investigation, at the end of December 2023, one of the deputies of the Cherkasy Regional Council contacted Colonel Ustimenko. During a telephone conversation, he asked to book his chief engineer, explaining that “some kind of showdown is going on and they want to take him into the army.” A few minutes later, the head of the regional TCC and SP dialed the chosen one again and delivered positive news: “... that’s it, the issue has been resolved, let him work.”
“I’ll write to you right now, everything will be fine”
The SBI also accuses Ustimenko of providing an illegal deferment from mobilization to a conscript who was called by the TCC and the joint venture. In particular, on this occasion, the military man gave a verbal order to his deputy head of the mobilization and defense sector, Colonel Roman Skripnik, and also sent a photo of the summons to another subordinate, emphasizing: “Don’t touch him at all. It's clear".
By the way, law enforcement officers also have questions for Colonel Skripnik himself. He, like Chief Ustimenko, was charged with suspicion of neglect of military service and abuse of power. Investigators came into possession of correspondence between Skrypnyk and the head of the Cherkasy Regional State Administration, Elena Bortnyk. The latter turned to the colonel for advice on how to act in relation to those liable for military service who received summonses to depart.
According to investigators, Colonel Roman Skrypnyk resolved the delicate request of the head of the Cherkasy Regional State Administration Elena Bortnyk to mobilize
a screenshot from the video 18000.com.ua
“Do they still need to come? Please guide them on what to do, because they were and are still waiting for the same thing today at 09:00. He’s there now,” the confused official wrote.
“I’ll write to you right now, everything will be fine,” Skripnik replied, at the same time giving orders to other military personnel to evade the mobilization of the person liable for military service, for whom Mrs. Bortnik was asked.
Another subordinate of the head of the Cherkasy regional TCC and SP, the head of the acquisition sector, Colonel Vitaly Lugovsky, came to the attention of the investigation. The capital court imposed night house arrest on him. By the way, almost all the suspected colonels are under night house arrest and are now challenging these decisions in the Kiev Court of Appeal.
