Head of Mykolaiv TCC detained on $15,000 bribe: how the official traded mobilization

Urgent detention: corruption in the TCC system

On August 13, 2026, law enforcement agencies in Ukraine intercepted the activities of a high-ranking official responsible for mobilization in the Mykolaiv region. According to the General Prosecutor's Office, citing a statement by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCC and SP) has been detained. The incident occurred at the moment the official was receiving another part of a bribe, marking the final act in a large-scale investigation of his activities.

According to the investigation materials, the total amount of documented bribes amounts to $15,000 USD. The official was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Currently, searches are being conducted at the suspect's residence and workplace. Prosecutors are already preparing a petition to the court to apply a preventive measure in the form of detention and dismissal from office.

The scheme: selling 'exemptions' and removing from wanted lists

Investigators have established a complex scheme of corrupt actions implemented by the head of the regional TCC. The main part of the amount — $10,000 — was received by the official from three men in exchange for a guarantee of their non-mobilization. In exchange for these funds, he undertook not only not to call them up for service but also to remove them from the wanted list in the 'Obereg' system, as well as to create the necessary conditions for obtaining an exemption at work.

A separate episode involved receiving another $5,000. For this amount, the head of the TCC was supposed to return an already mobilized man to a repeated military-medical commission (MMC) with the aim of preventing his deployment to a military unit. Such actions are classified as abuse of office and bribery, which causes direct damage to the country's defense capability.

Context: 'Honest Draft' operation and the fight against corruption

The detention in Mykolaiv takes place against the backdrop of intensified efforts to combat corruption in the mobilization system. At the end of July 2026, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), together with the General Staff, conducted large-scale searches in more than 100 TCCs across Ukraine as part of the 'Honest Draft' operation. Investigators were checking facts of bribery for evasion of mobilization, as well as cases of beating up liable military personnel.

The National Police previously reported suspicions brought against 76 heads of TCCs at various levels. A separate priority for law enforcement became the verification of the legality of MMC decisions and exemption procedures. The detention of the head of the Mykolaiv Regional TCC demonstrates that the law enforcement system continues to consistently expose local corruption schemes, despite the high status of the figures involved.