Extortion and suicidal orders: a soldier shared with Fokus his experience of "slavery" in the 78th Air Assault Brigade.

Following the high-profile scandal involving the 155th Brigade "Anna Kyivskaya", discussions about issues in other military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have become more frequent in public discourse. Recently, a scandal emerged within the 78th Airborne Assault Brigade (78 ODSHP), where soldiers accuse the command of non-combat losses and extorting money.

Scandal in the 78 ODSHP: What the Command is Guilty Of

The commander of the 3rd platoon of the drone strike aviation complex of military unit A7788 of the 78th ODSHP, Vitaly Holovnya described the "outrageous" situation in his unit. In particular, due to the scandal in the 78 ODSHP, a group of servicemen wishes to change their place of service; however, the regiment commander threatens not to release them and even intends to facilitate their transfer to infantry as riflemen.

He noted that the head of the drone systems has usurped all power within the unit. He has favored individuals who can do nothing yet receive 100,000, while another category of soldiers is "enslaved," with one crew being tasked with 3-4 missions, which ultimately leads to tragic consequences. Meanwhile, others sit in Sumy guarding warehouses in Zaporizhzhia and also receive 100,000.

The commander submits inaccurate data in reports on inflicting damage to the enemy to "inflate the efficiency metrics." Additionally, he demands a monthly contribution of 10% to the "company fund," which he uses at his discretion, while the needs of the soldiers go unmet. Furthermore, during a fundraising effort for a cargo vehicle for logistics, the head of the drone systems used nearly 300,000 hryvnias from the "fund" to repair his own car. Meanwhile, the unit's needs remained unaddressed, and crews operated at positions without electronic warfare systems.

Holovnya pointed out that the unit experiences not only combat losses but also self-detonations. In his view, this occurs because the commander has "driven the people crazy," leading them to detonate during missions. The leadership reports that these tragedies occurred due to enemy shelling or FPV drone strikes to avoid investigations and scrutiny.

"This is the fault of the head of the drone systems because he (the deceased soldier — ed.) was following his direct orders, and he had already been exhausted after several days on deployment, making it physically impossible for the soldiers to carry out those tasks," Holovnya explained, noting that this led to mistakes and disregard for safety protocols.

He shared events that took place in Sudzha, Kursk region, when his comrade "Trempel" was ordered to urgently evacuate all belongings from the position, although there was no such necessity, according to the soldier. As a result, two soldiers drove to the position in personal transport without electronic warfare systems, while the commander's vehicle was "loaded with electronic warfare systems."

Moreover, the soldiers are not provided with electronic warfare systems, and those available are ineffective. The same applies to communication, which was absent during combat missions. A serviceman reported that the commander manually "disbanded" coordinated combat crews to increase their number.

Additionally, the day after the video regarding the scandal in the 78 ODSHP was released, a tragedy occurred in the unit, resulting in one military personnel dead and another injured. Meanwhile, the command is concealing the truth about the incident, with varying official versions. He noted that the claim that the soldiers were hit by an FPV drone while preparing a large strike UAV is false.

"The nature of the inflicted damage indicates that it was a self-detonation; the guys had been at the position for the seventh day and were completely exhausted, leading to such a tragic situation. Such events happen every month, all due to the command's incompetence; everything is blamed on the war and combat losses, but these are not combat losses," the soldier recounted.

Repressions in the Unit Following the Scandal Disclosure

"Today, my chief sergeant and I were transferred to the training battalion of our regiment. These are the movements currently taking place," he said.

Holovnya noted that four of his soldiers are currently in Sumy. He believes that pressure may begin on two of them, while the leadership is still "considering what to do."

"If such actions have already begun against me, further pressure will be applied to the guys to hurt me," the soldier emphasized.

He mentioned that he has already submitted an appeal to the Central Office for the Protection of Military Personnel's Rights, asking them to contact the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) on his behalf and register in the unified register of pre-trial investigations based on the facts he presented. In particular, he provided attachments and screenshots in his explanation.

"I also know that one MP from the Verkhovna Rada has approached the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the DBR based on the video viewed. I have also given testimony and explanations to counterintelligence, and based on this, they should have initiated an investigation as well. So far, everything remains in this status," Vitaly Holovnya concludes.

Recall that on January 16, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko reported that in the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where money was extorted from soldiers, the command decided to transfer up to a thousand military personnel to infantry units.