Military ombudsman launches investigation into Skelia regiment after deaths of five soldiers

One of the deceased servicemen, Vasyl Tsiurko, was mobilized on Feb. 24. His sister, Tetiana Stefaniuk, said the family lost contact with him shortly afterward but later learned he had been assigned to the Skelia regiment and was allegedly in poor condition after being beaten.

The family later sent him personal belongings and a phone. After the package was delivered, relatives called him, but another man answered and reportedly said Tsiurko would remain “in solitary confinement for two more days.” Two days later, the family was informed that he had died six days earlier — before that phone conversation allegedly took place.

His official cause of death was listed as acute cardiovascular failure and atherosclerotic heart disease. A forensic medical expert also documented fatty liver disease, broken ribs, bruises, abrasions, and bodily injuries.

Police in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast said Tsiurko’s death is being investigated as a murder case.

Another mobilized serviceman, Yaroslav Mokrii, joined the military in late February. His sister, Uliana Kondratieva, said he had preexisting lung problems and initially served at a territorial recruitment center before abruptly disappearing.

According to the report, Mokrii later briefly contacted relatives via Viber from an unknown number and told them not to worry, “as if someone was standing beside him,” his sister said. On March 16, the family learned he had died.

His official cause of death was listed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His relatives said they only learned from the death notice that he had served in the Skelia regiment.

A third serviceman, Vasyl Voichuk from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, was mobilized in mid-March. He reportedly told relatives he had passed a military medical commission and had been declared fit for service.

Soon afterward, an unidentified man contacted Voichuk’s brother requesting bank account details for military payments. During the call, Voichuk himself appeared distressed, relatives said.

His family later learned he had died from illness. Official documents stated he died in an ambulance from acute cardiopulmonary failure complicated by pleural empyema.

However, his brother said the body showed signs of severe beating and claimed Voichuk’s skull appeared displaced from a blow. No formal complaint was filed with law enforcement.

Another serviceman, Petro Danyltsev, died 36 days after mobilization. Military doctors had diagnosed him with symptomatic hypertension but still declared him fit for service. His death certificate stated he died from atherosclerotic cardiosclerosis while being transported to a medical facility in Kirovohrad Oblast.

The fifth serviceman, Vitalii Karat, was assigned to the regiment in late February 2026. According to relatives, he later called home and said he had been beaten and hospitalized despite not undergoing a military medical commission.

His sister later visited him in the hospital, where he allegedly told her he had been repeatedly beaten before being transferred for treatment. He later died.

Representatives of the Skelia regiment declined to comment to journalists on the circumstances surrounding the deaths, citing constitutional protections, medical confidentiality, and restricted information laws.

Ukraine’s Medical Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also declined to answer questions about the five deaths but noted that both the military and the country experienced elevated respiratory illness rates during that period.

Ukraine’s Ombudsman’s Office said it had received 58 complaints related to the Skelia regiment by April 2026. Officials urged families who suspect relatives may have died as a result of violence rather than combat to contact the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

On May 18, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced that a separate inspection had been launched into the regiment and that a closed-door meeting with regiment commanders and the General Staff had been initiated.

Earlier, volunteer and Defense Ministry adviser Serhii Sternenko accused commanders of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelia of conducting assaults with heavy losses. The regiment rejected the accusations, claiming Sternenko relied on Russian sources.

Later, Ukraine’s 7th Air Assault Corps said senior military leadership was reviewing the actions of the regiment.