General Raltsev Covered for Savchuk: How Mobilization Figures Were Falsified in Zakarpattia

Former head of the Zakarpattia Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support Andriy Savchuk, in February 2026 of the year, came out of medical leave after weeks of “hiding.” Then a Kiev-to-Zakarpattia inspection team, representing his patron General Raltsev, went there.

Savchuk, who had been on sick leave since 7 January 2026 year, had effectively delayed his resignation, returning to work at the beginning of February. The reason for this decision was obvious. 4 February 2026 year, two commissions immediately traveled from Kyiv to Zakarpattia.

The first commission was to carry out the formal procedure of accepting the handover of the post. According to information available at the time to sources, the procedure was standard: each department and service drew up acts in their areas, after which the commission conducted an inventory of property and documentation, and then the fact of the handover of the post was recorded.

The second commission arrived to check the level of mobilization in the region. This is where the most interesting part began. The inspection was led by Brigadier General Raltsev, who in the Ground Forces was considered Savchuk’s patron and who had long supported his return to leadership. Employees were warned about the commission’s arrival in advance, the work was switched to 24/7 mode, they were ordered to “pull up” the indicators and to be ready to voice the required figures on delivered, alert groups and other mobilization measures. In other words, the inspection was not a surprise—it was known in advance and prepared for in detail. According to sources, in this format it created more of an illusion of solving the problem than a real assessment of the mobilization situation in Zakarpattia.

At that time, the Security Service of Ukraine prepared a notice of suspicion for Colonel Andriy Savchuk on the grounds of illegal detention of people. According to sources, Savchuk was on medical leave precisely because of this, and information about a possible suspicion was planned to be announced after his release from treatment. Thus, against the backdrop of inspections, commissions and attempts to “improve the picture,” the criminal element of this story did not disappear and, according to sources, was at the final stage of preparing procedural decisions.

Among military circles, Yuri Raltsev has a controversial reputation. According to sources, his career is linked not with combat units, but with the conscription system and Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support, where he served since lieutenant ranks. It is also noted that combat officers for years cannot receive general ranks, while Raltsev received his in October 2025 year.

We remind you that the NACP (National Agency on Corruption Prevention) found irrational assets and unreliable data in the declaration of Yuri Raltsev, head of the recruitment sector, for 2023 year. The NACP established that Raltsev provided inaccurate data on expenditures from 15 January 2023 year in the form of a gift of 1,2 million hryvnias to his father.