A new scandal has erupted in the Ivano-Frankivsk region concerning the activities of Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC). The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NAB) has detained a senior lieutenant of a district TRC who brutally beat his subordinate while heavily intoxicated. The incident occurred in the early hours of August 13, 2026, when the officer, arriving for duty, decided to "educate" the soldier on night watch.
Details of the brutal assault at the recruitment center
According to the investigation, the 45-year-old officer arrived at the TRC building at night already in an inebriated state. Instead of performing his duties, he began humiliating the subordinate on daily duty, demonstrating his professional superiority. The situation quickly escalated into physical violence: the senior lieutenant beat the serviceman, inflicting serious injuries. Witnesses confirmed that the officer was intoxicated.
In the morning of August 13, the victim was taken to a hospital in Lviv. Doctors diagnosed the man with a closed rupture of the left acromioclavicular joint—a serious injury to the shoulder girdle requiring immediate surgical intervention. The victim is currently in the hospital undergoing treatment.
Criminal case and evidence of guilt
NAB investigators responded promptly to the incident. During the check, a pre-trial investigation was conducted, during which witnesses and the victim were questioned. To confirm the officer's intoxication, an alcohol test was administered: the device recorded a concentration of 0.69 per mille. Law enforcement officers also seized military and medical documents and conducted investigative experiments to reconstruct the events.
The detained officer has been notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—"Exceeding authority or official powers by a military official under martial law". The sanction of this article provides for imprisonment for up to 12 years. The NAB has already submitted a petition to the court to select a preventive measure in the form of detention for the suspect.
Context: fighting corruption in TRCs
This investigation is part of the large-scale work of law enforcement agencies to expose offenses among the leadership of territorial recruitment centers. As noted by the NAB, such incidents undermine trust in the mobilization system and discipline in the armed forces. The pre-trial investigation is being conducted under the procedural supervision of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the field of defense of the Western region.
Recall that the National Police of Ukraine has already notified suspicions to almost 80 heads of TRCs across the country. As part of these investigations, facts of illegal issuance of deferments for approximately 2,500 citizens liable for military service are being checked. Investigators have seized more than 83,000 decisions of military-medical commissions (MMC), which may have been falsified. Recently, the head of the Mykolaiv regional TRC was also detained, who was exposed for receiving a bribe of $15,000 for helping to evade mobilization.
