There’s a risk of escape abroad: the court has detained the commander of the 211th brigade and set the bail amount.

On the afternoon of December 30, a hearing took place at the Pechersk Court in Kyiv regarding the case of Oleg Poberezhniuk, the commander of the 211th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The officer was arrested for the second time, with the right to bail set at over 12 million UAH. Additionally, the prosecution initiated the suspension of the serviceman from his official duties. The court's decision was written about in the Telegram channel of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

The announcement regarding the court's decision on Poberezhniuk surfaced online at 5:45 PM on December 30. It was noted that the prosecution requested a preventive measure of arrest for the suspect, the commander of the 211th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade of the Armed Forces, with the possibility of bail set at 40 million UAH. However, the judge decided to reduce the bail threefold: the serviceman was arrested with a bail option of 12 million 112 thousand UAH.

Another request from the prosecutors was to suspend Poberezhniuk from his official duties, as mentioned in the report. It was not clarified by the OGP whether this request was granted.

Details of the 211th Brigade Case - Court Hearing

The court hearing that took place on December 30 concerned new suspicions reported by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General following repeated searches of Poberezhniuk's premises. It turned out that he was charged under part 4 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code — inaction of military authority: the commander ignored beatings and abuses of subordinates that occurred from February to July 2024. The maximum penalty for such a crime is imprisonment for a term of seven to ten years.

The media outlet "Suspilne" reported the details of the hearing at the Pechersk Court. It was revealed that the prosecution justified the necessity of arresting Poberezhniuk by stating that he might influence witnesses, attempt to flee abroad, and likely try to forge documents. Meanwhile, the lawyer explained that the defendant does not plan to escape, as he did not do so during the nine days he was free. The lawyer also pointed out that not all reports mentioned by the prosecutors were present in the case file regarding the suspicion. The defense's proposal was for a personal obligation, but the court did not agree with this idea, according to a statement from the OGPU.

"If he hasn't been hiding for nine days, then why would he run now? There wasn't even an electronic bracelet," the journalists quoted the lawyer.

Beatings of Soldiers in the 211th Brigade of the Armed Forces - Details

The situation in the 211th Brigade of the Armed Forces became known as a result of an investigation by the publication "Ukrainska Pravda." Investigators found that in this unit, drunken soldiers were tortured and tied to a cross. Furthermore, some military personnel were illegally receiving payments despite not being on the front line, while others, it is suspected, were building a house for the brigade commander.

It is worth noting that Poberezhniuk was already under arrest according to a court decision in Ternopil. This case concerned suspicions of abuse of office. On December 19, the judge set the bail amount at 908 thousand UAH. The serviceman was released after paying this amount.