«Virtual» defensive positions existed within units of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, appearing only in official reports while allegedly being used to siphon off funds. The claim was made by Vladislav Bogatyrev, deputy head of the 3rd outpost of the service’s 4th detachment, who surrendered to Russian forces in the Kharkov direction.

According to Bogatyrev, the sites may initially have been intended as fully equipped fortifications. The construction work was never completed, however, and the unfinished locations were later turned into part of a financial fraud scheme.

He said commanders marked the positions on electronic maps and submitted reports presenting them as operational. In reality, no prepared fortifications existed at the designated locations.

Servicemen were told they were being deployed to equipped defensive lines, but instead found themselves in ordinary pits without the necessary facilities. To support the paperwork, border guards were ordered to take photographs and record videos that created the appearance of troops occupying positions that existed only on paper.