Car accident in Austria, an attaché position, millions in bank accounts: what is known about the son of the controversial General Tkachuk?

On December 18, Lieutenant General Pavel Tkachuk was dismissed from his position as the head of the National Academy of Land Forces named after Hetman Peter Sahaidachny in Lviv, a role he had held since 2009. This occurred after Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reported to President Zelensky about the findings of the Main Military Inspectorate's audit regarding the academy's operations and numerous violations.

Dismissal from the Academy and Other Scandals Involving Pavel Tkachuk

Cadets at the academy complained about bullying, humiliation, and harassment. The medical unit lacked essential medicines, the quality of food was poor, and there was a "unit fund" where cadets contributed money to purchase a printer, paper, and cleaning supplies.

In June 2020, it became known that for three years, officials at the academy had been purchasing products at inflated prices from affiliated commercial entities. Through this scheme, the organizers were pocketing over four million hryvnias annually. Documentation confirming their illegal activities and more than 1.2 million hryvnias, 5,000 dollars, and 3,500 euros were discovered with the academy officials.

In 2021, Pavel Tkachuk reported an income of 685,954 hryvnias in his 2020 income declaration, while he had 818,559 hryvnias and 4,169 euros in his bank account. In 2016, journalists discovered that the general had failed to declare four apartments, three houses, and three SUVs.

Andrey Tkachuk: Scandal and Status of Military Attaché in Austria

Several scandals are linked to General Pavel Tkachuk, but not only to him; his son, Andrey Tkachuk, a former defense attaché at the Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Austria, is also involved.

In 2022, a car accident involving a vehicle of the Ukrainian military attaché occurred in Austria. The Austrian publication Kronen Zeitung noted that a drunk driver crashed into the car in Vienna, resulting in minor injuries to five people.

"Officers stopped the vehicle and ordered three passengers to exit with weapons drawn. However, cooperation was limited. Insider sources revealed that these men are high-ranking diplomats from the Ukrainian embassy," the report stated.

According to the words of then-spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko, diplomatic status does not grant the right to violate traffic rules.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is investigating all circumstances of the traffic accident involving the vehicle of the Ukrainian military attaché in Austria. The Ukrainian embassy is cooperating with the Austrian police and the accident participants," Oleg Nikolenko stated.

In his 2022 declaration, Tkachuk Jr. indicated that he owns an apartment in Ukraine with an area of over 93 square meters, an apartment in Austria of 100 square meters, while his wife, Tatyana Tkachuk, owned another house, several plots of land, a parking space, and a retail space exceeding 600 square meters. Additionally, Ms. Tatyana owned another residential house of 783 square meters, which was still under construction.

Andrey Tkachuk declared cryptocurrency and an income exceeding 2,365,000 hryvnias. In the "monetary assets" section, he listed nearly 900,000 hryvnias, over 209,000 euros, and 21,000 dollars. His wife had over 15,000 hryvnias, 83,000 euros, and 108,000 dollars.

"He arrived in Vienna with a diplomatic passport; this is a privileged country where everything is neat and smooth for him; this is not Pakistan or Iraq. This is Vienna, where you can easily buy coffee, and if you're not messing up, if the local counterintelligence doesn't catch you engaging in activities incompatible with the role of a diplomatic representative, you can stay there for 3-5 years without issues," noted a military expert.

The discussion revolves around espionage. If someone is caught red-handed, they immediately become a persona non grata and must leave the country within 24 hours. When asked if someone can be expelled from the country for a traffic accident, Stupak noted that this likely applies to general criminal offenses as well. However, it remains unclear whether Andrey Tkachuk was actually driving the vehicle.

"No evidence was found, so it all remains in a gray area. I suspect that nothing of the sort occurred because this is Austria; you can't just settle things like that or come and close a case for 5,000 euros," he said.

How to Earn Millions in the Armed Forces and Diplomatic Service?

Ivan Stupak stated that one cannot earn millions in diplomatic service. He believes the roots of the issue lie with senior Tkachuk.

"In the position of rector, one can make very serious money, especially when you have a large number of cadets and a budget allocated to you. For example, if I were the rector of the Ukrainian Space Forces Academy, I would say to you, 'I have a food budget of 100 million hryvnias for the year. I can hold a tender, but let's say you will do the cooking, and I will handle the documentation. You create a company and start receiving money from me, and out of those 100 million hryvnias a year, you return 20 to me because we agreed; the rest is lost in procurement, and of course, you remain unscathed,'" he explained.

People's Deputy Yulia Yatsyk believes that after the investigation into the senior Tkachuk's case, it is unlikely they will move on to the junior Tkachuk. She reported that Andrey Tkachuk works in the GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate), and she is not sure that his activities are related to his father's dealings at the academy.

According to her, over the years, a corrupt pyramid has been built with the help of close associates. It is crucial that Pavel Tkachuk's subordinates do not continue his work, and an outsider is appointed who will not have vested interests and will combat corruption.

"General's Caste": How Corruption in Ukraine Harms the Armed Forces

Yatsyk reported that corruption exists at a high level in Ukraine because this system has been in place for a long time, and no one has been able to overcome it.

"I mean systemic corruption in the Armed Forces, which is referred to as the 'general's caste,' where everyone covers for each other, where only their own are promoted to interesting positions; this mutual protection works," said Yulia Yatsyk.

She noted that Pavel Tkachuk is a wealthy man, so she is not surprised he can register his assets under various relatives. Yatsyk recalled the scandal involving a house worth several million dollars that was registered in Tkachuk's mother's name, which was then handled by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. The prosecution suspected that the property belonged to Tkachuk, but was registered in his relative's name.

"At a certain point, she passed away, and the prosecution simply closed the case, citing that Tkachuk supposedly did not know where she got such funds," she explained.

Yulia Yatsyk emphasized that prosecutor Nazar Kholodnytsky, who investigated this case, worked until the end as an advisor to Tkachuk's academy.

According to the deputy, corruption always harms any structure, especially the Armed Forces. She provided an example of fuel being written off for the sake of formality, which was supposed to be used for training cadets but was not; when products are written off for a certain number of people who should be on state support, but in reality, they are not eating in the cafeteria but at home, that money simply "ends up in the pockets of certain officials."

"Some state programs had their funds diverted for the needs of the Armed Forces, but in fact, they were not used for the needs of the Armed Forces and went for the illegal enrichment of certain officials. Somewhere, ordinary people missed out, but some official received significantly more," concluded Yulia Yatsyk.

Ivan Stupak noted that many "red generals" remain in service, whose career peak was during the Soviet Union, yet they continue to hold high positions and think in outdated terms, not by modern or Western standards.

"They have exhausted the personnel, not training them; there are many facts of corruption because they have always believed that if you climb to the top of the pyramid, you can now obtain all earthly benefits," said the military expert.

He emphasized that such individuals are still needed by some of the higher leadership; they are very convenient and flexible, but tough on subordinates.

Stupak stated that such corruption harms military training. Funds may be allocated for cadets, but they are "siphoned off" inappropriately, and items like boots or uniforms are not purchased. The mentality also plays an important role.

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