Key facts
- Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi reportedly ordered a halt to recruitment for assault regiments on July 26.
- The reported suspension follows media investigations into alleged mistreatment and non-combat deaths within specific assault regiments.
- The General Staff has not officially confirmed the recruitment suspension but announced a review of personnel distribution.
- Allegations include troops being ordered to fire on retreating soldiers and over 30 non-combat deaths in one regiment.
- Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation is probing allegations of torture and deaths, with one regiment's commander suspended.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi has reportedly ordered assault regiments within the Ground Forces to temporarily suspend recruitment, according to Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda. The decision, dated July 26, comes amid a series of media investigations into alleged mistreatment of soldiers and a high number of non-combat deaths within the 425th and 225th assault regiments.
Sources within four units cited by Ukrainska Pravda indicated that recruitment from reserve battalions and newly mobilized soldiers had been halted. One soldier anonymously confirmed that personnel transfers for those who had gone absent without leave (AWOL) were also put on hold.
However, sources from the General Staff told the outlet Babel that no official orders to suspend recruitment had been issued, contradicting the earlier reports. The General Staff has not publicly commented on the matter but announced on July 29 an inspection into the "fair distribution of personnel" across the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This review aims to assess staffing levels, evaluate personnel allocation effectiveness, and improve military personnel management.
Media investigations this summer have focused on the 425th (Skelia) and 225th regiments. Texty reported that Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of the 225th Assault Regiment, allegedly ordered troops to fire on retreating fellow soldiers. Separately, Babel reported over 30 non-combat deaths within the 425th Assault Regiment, linked to inadequate service conditions and alleged abuse. Following these reports, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation launched a pretrial investigation into allegations of torture and deaths. The commander of the 425th regiment, Yurii Harkavyi, has been suspended, and two service members from its medical unit were charged on July 28 with torturing and unlawfully detaining fellow soldiers.