What Happened to Oleksandr Zaval
On July 15, Slidstvo.Info published a new investigation into alleged systemic violations in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia." The central story is the death of Oleksandr Zaval, who was shot by a fellow serviceman while attempting to leave the regiment's position. This episode gave the material its title—a quote from the deceased's relatives: "If he was fleeing—jail him, why shoot him?"
Journalists have documented at least three different outcomes for those who attempted to leave the unit without authorization: beatings with serious injuries, detention with broken ribs and knocked-out teeth, and death from gunshot wounds. One witness claims that violence in the regiment was documented two years ago.
Context: "Babel" Opened Pandora's Box First
On June 23, the publication "Babel" published a large-scale investigation, interviewing over 30 witnesses—relatives of mobilized personnel and military personnel themselves. Journalists identified at least 25 non-combat deaths in the regiment's training centers over six months—from late 2025 to spring 2026. Most diagnoses were pneumonia and cardiovascular diseases that developed shortly after mobilization. Some relatives claimed possible violence as a contributing factor.
On July 7, "Babel" found seven more deaths, bringing the total number of documented cases to 31 for the same period. Most of the mobilized personnel died after spending less than a month in the regiment.
"We confirm that they committed a crime called unauthorized departure from the unit. We also confirm the deaths of 25 out of 26."
— Andriy Suray, head of the civil-military cooperation group of the 425th Assault Regiment "Skelia," press conference
Suray did not comment on the circumstances of these deaths—only noting that "if a 53-year-old man died of alcoholic cardiomyopathy with no signs of violence, what investigation are we talking about."
What the Investigation Did—and Didn't Do
Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova reported that she was aware of problems in "Skelia" as early as May–June 2025: during an inspection, 22 beaten servicemen were removed from the regiment, whose testimonies were confirmed by polygraph, and a group of instructors who organized abuse at the training ground were suspended from training. However, law enforcement agencies never released the results of that investigation.
The DBR (Directorate of the State Bureau of Investigation) opened a criminal case immediately after "Babel's" publication—under Part 5 of Article 426 (abuse of authority or official powers). DBR Director Oleksiy Sukhachov admitted in an interview to Interfax-Ukraine that before the material was published, the agency had not received any information from the command about possible torture—only individual complaints from victims. On July 10, the DBR detained a "Skelia" serviceman accused of beating a chaplain and lieutenant colonel in Kharkiv region in 2025.
Sukhachov also announced his intention to appeal to the Office of the Prosecutor General with a proposal to combine all criminal proceedings against "Skelia" into one comprehensive investigation. Currently, only the Poltava office of the DBR has opened five separate cases for 2025–early 2026.
- Regiment Commander Yuriy Harkavoy was suspended from his position during the investigation.
- Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets initiated an inspection into alleged torture, detention in places of confinement, and driving to suicide.
- The Ground Forces Command handed the case over to relevant authorities.
- In March 2025, a Sky News filming crew was shot at near the regiment's training ground—12 bullet holes were left in the vehicle.
Why This Is More Than Just One Regiment
"Skelia" is a unit with genuine combat achievements and declared good supply. That's exactly why its case raises a systemic question: if violence was documented as early as 2023–2024, and 22 beaten servicemen passed a polygraph in spring 2025—why did criminal cases only appear after media publications? The DBR will combine the cases into one proceeding if the Office of the Prosecutor General agrees—and then for the first time, the full chronology of who knew what and when about what was happening at "Skelia's" training grounds will become visible.
