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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
According to the media, the chief commander issued a new directive.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapaty 7 in September issued a directive to minimize corruption risks within the military, as reported by Our Money with reference to sources in the APU who received the order. The directive is meant to complicate the staying of corrupt individuals in relatively peaceful positions, who thus wait out the terms of their criminal proceedings.
The document specifies personnel limitations and disciplinary measures for those involved in corruption offenses. The addressees of the directive include the leadership of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, commanders of branches and types of forces, heads of military administration bodies, educational institutions, and law enforcement agencies of the Armed Forces. In total, the document was sent to 48 recipients.
Drapaty’s directive not only concerns military personnel who already have verdicts, sanctions, or prohibitions on holding certain positions, but also those whose guilt has not yet been proven.
“This directive could affect a significant portion of those charged in NABU and SAP cases who have mobilized to the Defense Forces, a large portion of whom mobilized to avoid punishment. We know about about 80 defendants who mobilized to the Defense Forces,” — said the Centre for Against Corruption lawyer Roman Verbitsky to the publication.
The directive provides a direct ban on staffing units with personnel who are accused of grave or particularly grave corruption offenses, even if the case is still being heard in court. This constraint allows the command to remove suspects before the court issues a verdict in the case.
The publication reminded that pre-trial investigation and court proceedings in high-profile corruption cases can take many years. For example, in the case of the “yachts worth 17 UAH” regarding embezzlement of more than 733 million UAH for food for the troops, NABU and SAP announced charges in April 2025 year, and the pre-trial investigation was concluded in September 2025 year. At the same time, according to the publication, prosecutors may not refer the proceeding to court earlier than next year.
There are also examples of military personnel with reprimands for corruption who can work for years after receiving them. Our Money recalled the episode with the procurement of firewood in which the head of the Eastern Customs Evaluation Unit Oleg Lupiichuk was involved. He received the corresponding reprimand at the end of 2024 year. In August of the previous year, he was dismissed from his post in Dnipro after an investigation into misappropriation in the procurement of firewood, and the next month Lupiichuk became head of the Eastern CEU. A few days later he was charged with negligence in service. A court chose a preventive measure for him, but he paid bail and returned. Judging by court rulings dated in September 2026 year, Lupiichuk remains a serviceman. However, the new prohibition from Drapaty’s directive could affect exactly such officers in the APU.
In addition, according to the document, if a service member committed a corruption-related offense, but the court did not deprive him of the right to hold certain positions, he must still be held administratively or disciplinarily liable.
In the case of service members who already have verdicts in corruption cases, it is appropriate to consider transferring them to positions without leadership and economic responsibilities. And those service members whose assets were deemed unfounded by the court and confiscated for the state should be dismissed.
The directive also calls attention to the appointment of personnel to the Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Protection (TC Nk?), the Military Law Enforcement Service, and units responsible for procurement. When making such appointments or decisions on personnel, you must now take into account:
the presence of an uncleared conviction for corruption;
open criminal cases for corruption articles;
bringing to administrative or disciplinary responsibility for corruption offenses.
These same requirements apply to the Military Law and Order Service, legal and anti-corruption services, and internal control units.
According to the directive, command should not allow direct subordination and dependence between close relatives during service.
Reports on corrupt individuals, convictions, opened proceedings, sanctions, etc., must now be submitted every six months and summarized for the year.
Drapaty also issued a separate directive requiring commanders to ensure the appearance of subordinates before investigators and the court. In other words, it is now prohibited to use service tasks as a pretext for avoiding appearances. Commanders must immediately report all obstacles to the prosecutor, investigator, or court.
The Anti-Corruption Prevention Department should maintain records of those held accountable for corruption violations, monitor commanders’ reactions to violations, and, if necessary, initiate official checks.
As a reminder, in April the former head of the State Fiscal Service, Roman Nasirov, received a real sentence — six years in prison and a ban on holding public offices for 3 years. Nasirov was found guilty of abuse of official position that caused the state losses of more than 2 billion UAH.
After several extensions of the preventive measure, Nasirov remained in custody until May 2024 year, when he was released on bail of 55 million hryvnias. In April 2025 year it became known that Nasirov wished to mobilize to the Armed Forces for the position of sapper. However, the next day the Military Law Enforcement Service announced the cancellation of the relevant order and the start of an investigation.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Драпатий ускладнив життя корупціонерам, які хочуть в ЗСУ перечекати строки своїх справ — ЗМІ". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
