Shyrshyn alleges drugs were planted as police cite military tip in car inspection
During a search of the vehicle, officers found and seized two black packages containing a greenish plant-based substance, the National Police said. (Photo: National Police)
Police seized packages containing “green plant material”
from the car of Oleksandr Shyrshyn, a former battalion commander in the 47th
Separate Mechanized Brigade Magura, acting on an “operational tip,” the
National Police’s Kharkiv Oblast directorate reported
on Aug. 28. The substance will be sent for examination.
Police said officers stopped an Audi during the day after
receiving operational information that the driver might be carrying narcotics.
The vehicle’s license plate also did not correspond to the car, the National
Police said.
The driver, a service member, consented to an inspection of
the vehicle while speaking with police, officers said.
The man then took a bundle from the glove compartment
containing black packages, scales and plant material. The driver unpacked the
bundle, placed it on the roof of the car and said the prohibited substances did
not belong to him, the National Police said.
An investigative team arrived at the scene. During the
inspection, officers found and seized two black zip-lock bags containing “green
plant material,” police said.
“The seized substance will be sent for expert examination to
determine its composition and origin. Necessary investigative actions are
currently underway. The pretrial investigation continues. Investigators have
entered information on the case into the Unified Register of Pretrial
Investigations under Part 2 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine,”
the National Police said.
Andrii Sharnin, head of the investigative department of the
National Police’s Kharkiv Oblast directorate, told Ukrainska Pravda
that police “received information from the Military Law Enforcement Service
that a service member, whose identity was unknown, was transporting narcotics
and selling them on the premises of one of the military units in Kharkiv.”
When he spoke to the outlet, however, Sharnin could not say
how much police had seized from the car in total or exactly what they had found
“because the vehicle inspection was still ongoing.”
Sharnin said police were inspecting only the car and that
the inspection was being conducted with forensic specialists present and was
being recorded.
Asked a follow-up question by reporters, he said it was “too
early to talk about suspect status or detention.”
“So far, four packages containing green plant material have
been seized. What exactly is in them will only be known after an examination.
Also, just recently, several small bundles of some kind wrapped in blue and
black electrical tape were found beneath the driver’s seat compartment,” he
said.
On Aug. 28, Oleksandr Shyrshyn, former commander of a
battalion in the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade Magura, said on Facebook that
drugs had been planted in his car.
In comments to Babel,
Shyrshyn said law enforcement officers knew exactly where to look and what they
were looking for.
“The moment I was stopped, there were already people here
who looked like SBU officers. They’re walking around now, hiding. The police
say they don’t know them. But they’re hanging around, passing along my
information, and right now they’re talking to the cops, exchanging something
and messaging each other,” he said.
Shyrshyn told reporters the incident occurred in Kharkiv as
he was driving past the scene of a traffic accident.
The service member said
he had received confirmation “that this was a setup.”
Oleksandr Shyrshyn’s conflict with military command
Oleksandr Shyrshyn became commander of a battalion in the
47th Brigade in July 2024. He left the post on Aug. 14, 2025.
On May 17, 2025, Shyrshyn said he had submitted a formal
report to his commanders over “idiotic tasks” that had resulted in casualties
and that he hoped to resign. He was apparently referring to losses in the Kursk
sector.
On July 3, Oleksandr Syrskyi, then commander in chief of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine, said military command was ready to “transfer him
wherever he wants.”
Representatives of the General Staff said they would create
a working group following the battalion commander’s accusations. They said it
would conduct a detailed review of orders and directives issued to the unit
from different levels of military command to assess whether decisions made
under the prevailing combat conditions were justified.
On June 16, Shyrshyn said
a working group had reviewed his case and determined that “Capt. Shyrshyn
proved to be undisciplined, which resulted in service information being shared
on social media, and deserves an admonition.”
On June 20, Shyrshyn said the Armed Forces command was in no
hurry to address the problems he had raised, including unjustified losses among
Ukrainian troops during the Kursk operation.
On Aug. 7, 2026, Shyrshyn said a court had ruled Syrskyi’s
order declaring him “undisciplined” unlawful and overturned it.
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