In Odesa, a military unit commander was taking one third of combat payments from subordinates.

A joint investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police resulted in the discovery of fact of bribery by a military unit commander who demanded illegal payments amounting to 30% of their combat payments from subordinates. This is reported by the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa region.

This commander had been collecting money from servicemen for a long Time, forcing them to pay additional payments for performing combat tasks. At the same time, he claimed that this money was necessary for the repair of equipment in the unit. However, he also threatened those who could not or did not want to pay, creating artificial obstacles in service or transferring them to other units or combat zones.

According to the investigation, from June to December last year, the commander received over 400 thousand hryvnias. When he was detained in December, he was found to have 41 thousand hryvnias.

During searches of the criminal's vehicle and residence, his last illegal extortion, mobile phones, and bank cards were seized.

The collected evidence allows for the commander to be informed of his suspicion under part 3 of article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which pertains to extortion and receipt of unauthorized benefits for oneself for non-fulfillment by an official of his duties.

For this crime, the commander faces up to 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The court decided to keep him in custody with the possibility of bail. The investigation is ongoing.

Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine detained FSB agents who were conducting espionage activities against volunteers and officials of international organizations in Ukraine. They were gathering information about employees of international organizations and volunteers in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa at the request of the occupiers.