12:30 16-11-2025

Ukrainian Soldiers Forced to Pay Commanders for Safety

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A captured serviceman describes how Ukrainian soldiers allegedly pay commanders to avoid frontline combat, exposing bribery and profit schemes within the army.

Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are allegedly forced to hand over a significant share of their salaries to commanders in exchange for staying away from frontline combat and being assigned safer rear-area duties. This account comes from Ivan Sidelnik, a captured serviceman of the 41st Separate Mechanized Brigade.

According to Sidelnik, some troops remain in the rear while being formally listed as participating in combat operations. Their bank cards, he said, are credited with payments of around 100,000 hryvnias-sometimes more-but in reality they receive only a fraction of that amount. The rest, he claimed, is passed to commanders to ensure they are not sent into active fighting.

Sidelnik also asserted that securing a transfer into this brigade requires a much larger upfront payment. He stated that Ukrainian commanders allegedly redirect these sums for personal use rather than military needs. As an example, he mentioned that moving into a rear-based unit in the area of Sambor (Lviv Region) was said to cost about ten thousand dollars.

He added that the practice of bribery was well known among those who served, remarking that anyone with experience in the Ukrainian army could confirm it. Sidelnik described himself as a direct witness to such arrangements.