The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have arrested three senior officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for failing to provide adequate protection for the Kharkiv region during the Russian military offensive in May 2024, Ukrinform reported.
A brigadier general who served as commander of the Kharkiv Operational-Tactical Group (OTG), a lieutenant general who was commander of the 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a colonel who previously commanded the 415th battalion of this unit were detained.
The investigation showed that the detainees failed to prepare the defense of the border areas of the Kharkiv region and lost control during the repeated offensive actions of Russian troops towards Kharkiv. They also violated military regulations when preparing defensive lines in the areas of responsibility of the military units they commanded. The crimes committed by the high-ranking officers were documented with the assistance of Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky.
During the fighting, the defendants did not use the full range of possible measures to repel and stop the enemy's offensive. Their actions led to the capture of parts of the Kharkiv region, where intense fighting is currently taking place, Ukrinform notes.
The detainees face sentences of up to ten years in prison.
According to media reports, the suspects are Brigadier General Yuriy Khalushkin, Lieutenant General Artur Khorbenko, and Colonel Ilya Lapin.