The Defense Ministry is preparing to dismiss General Tkachuk amid a scandal. Here’s what we know about the situation.

First Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Havryliuk announced during a session of the Verkhovna Rada that an order is being prepared for the dismissal of General Pavlo Tkachuk, who leads the National Academy of Land Forces. This information was shared on social media on December 6 by lawyer and people's deputy from the "Servant of the People" party, Yulia Yatsik.

"The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov... you have finally made this decision! No matter how much Mr. Syrsky tried to keep him in office, the courageous, non-submissive stance of the NASV cadets, common sense, and public outrage over P. Tkachuk's impunity proved to be stronger," the parliamentarian noted.

The Dismissal of Tkachuk: What Led Up to It

Earlier, on March 21, Yatsik informed about a collective complaint from NASV cadets submitted to the Temporary Investigative Commission. It was stated that dismissal could only occur if parents or a wife come to pick them up. The deputy called the situation absurd where a 30-year-old officer must be picked up by his mother on the weekend.

One of the authors of the complaint, Alexander P., attended the VSK. After some inquiries were made and the academy was included in the inspection plan, the course commander A. began to harass this cadet.

During the morning formation, A. warned P. that a service investigation would be conducted against him. The cadet asked for permission to ask a question but was met with profanity and received a reprimand "for talking in formation" due to his reaction.

After that, there were humiliations and threats to those who decided to support P. As a result of the investigation, he was given a severe reprimand, and the materials were forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigations (GBR) for initiating a case of disobedience.

Cadets questioned by the GBR complained about unlawful behavior not only from course commander A. but also from the head of the combat training department T. The case against P. was dismissed, but the head of NASV was required to conduct a service investigation.

The VSK requested materials from the Military Law Enforcement Service regarding the service investigation and anonymous surveys of cadets, based on which no violations were allegedly found. It turned out that men complained about the use of physical measures by course commander A. and that dismissals were only granted upon the arrival of parents or a wife.

Additionally, under the condition of anonymity, cadets from different courses reported about:

• "the company fund," where cadets pool money for needs such as printers, paper, property supplies, etc.;
• to obtain dismissals, cadets are assigned various tasks, such as buying paper or refilling cartridges;
• harassment, humiliation, and bullying of cadets;
• the absence of necessary medications in the medical unit;
• between 30% and 60% of cadets in groups are on rations but do not eat in the cafeteria (mainly due to unappetizing meals and low-quality products).

The head of the department T. explained that such a dismissal procedure with "hand-to-hand" conditions was dictated by an oral order from the academy's head. However, Tkachuk, according to the deputy, "put on a surprised look" and denied such an order. He assured that it was a personal initiative of his subordinates.

The course commander A. admitted that he indeed used profanity in his communication with cadets but stated that he is working on himself. He also acknowledged that he forced a cadet to eat cigarettes in front of the entire company (this incident was recorded on video).

However, A. denied breaking two fingers of a cadet, explaining the injury by a falling box, and denied knocking out the future tank driver's teeth. Overall, he labeled the cadets' accusations as lies and slander. Tkachuk reported that the academy reacted to A.'s actions with a reprimand.

"If the VSK was able to 'bring to light' all participants in the cover-up and identify egregious violations of cadet rights at NASV in just a few days, then why couldn't the academy head Mr. P. Tkachuk (and his subordinates) do it, as it is his direct responsibility that he is not fulfilling! Could he not or did he not want to?" added Yatsik.

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