Case of Russia’s advance in Kharkiv Oblast in 2024: two generals and colonel detained – photos
Pravda Ukraine
Officials from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), have detained two former generals and a colonel on suspicion of negligence that enabled Russian forces to seize part of the territory of Kharkiv Oblast in May 2024.
Source: SBI, SSU, Ukrainska Pravda source in law enforcement
Quote from SBI: “The former commanders of Operational Tactical Group Kharkiv, the 125th Separate Brigade of Territorial Defence and the 415th Separate Rifle Battalion of the 23rd Separate Mechanised Brigade, demonstrated negligent attitudes towards military service, allowing the Russian Federation troops to seize part of the territory of Lyptsi rural territorial hromada of the Kharkiv district [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.].
Also, the actions of the commanders led to the loss of personnel and weapons, as well as disrupted measures to defend the state border in their area of responsibility.”
Details: According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, those detained include Brigadier General Yurii Halushkin, Lieutenant General Artur Horbenko and Colonel Illia Lapin.
As noted in the SBI report, the investigation found that the brigadier general Halushkin determined the defence positions for the 125th Separate Brigade of Territorial Defence that did not correspond to its combat capabilities, while he had other units that could reinforce these positions. The commander also made a number of other mistakes, including not fully clarifying the directions of the Russian main attacks, insufficient control over the organisation of preparation and conduct of defensive actions. He failed to manoeuvre the group’s forces and assets in a timely manner, and failed to organise artillery and air support for the brigade’s units.
The investigation discovered that Lieutenant General Horbenko underestimated the Russian troops’ ability to continue the offensive in the brigade’s defence area and responded inadequately to the Russians’ increasing combat capabilities and threats. In particular, he failed to equip combat guard posts, did not take measures to man the brigade, assigned overstated combat duties to the battalions, and did not organise sufficient equipping of strongholds, engineering barriers, and so on without first conducting operational and tactical calculations.
Furthermore, the former brigade commander, despite having information about the Russians’ planned offensive, failed to pass it on to his subordinates. He did not ensure full mobilisation or the presence of the entire brigade personnel, including officers, at their positions. During the battle, he failed to organise adequate fire support for the brigade’s units from artillery, did not effectively deploy reserves, and was unaware of the actual situation on the battlefield.
Similarly, Colonel Lapin, the former commander of the 415th Separate Rifle Battalion of the 23rd Separate Mechanised Brigade, did not plan a defensive action in the settlements of Strilecha, Krasne, Lyptsi and Slobozhanske, all of which were inside his battalion’s defence zone. He failed to identify significant objects for establishing strongholds, plan their defences, counter Russian subsurface mine warfare, or designate shelter and storage facilities.
The officer failed to report the outcomes of the battle to his senior commander during the defence against a Russian offensive, the SBI reports. He also did not take action to prevent the unauthorised retreat of 12 battalion soldiers and issued a combat order independently, without the approval of his senior commander. Additionally, the former battalion commander ignored the brigade commander’s order to recover the lost positions.
As a result of these failures, the Russians were able to advance and seize the positions of the first and second echelon battalion units. This led to significant losses in personnel, the Russians penetrating the defence line up to 10 km deep, and the loss of control over part of the territory along Ukraine’s state border.
The SSU reports that specialised expert assessments conducted by law enforcement have confirmed the criminal activity of the individuals involved.
After being transported to Kyiv, the suspects will be informed of charges related to their negligent performance of military duties under martial law, which resulted in severe consequences (Article 425.4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The former commander of the 415th brigade will also face additional charges for desertion (Article 429 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Law enforcement authorities are also planning to petition the court for the suspects’ arrest.
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