Following reports of deaths of seven more soldiers, "Skelia" Regiment promises to change way it works with mobilized troops

The 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" commented on a report regarding the deaths of seven more of its servicemen, who, according to journalists, were not killed while performing combat missions. The regiment stated that it is cooperating with law enforcement, analyzing each case individually, and striving to minimize non-combat losses.

This is stated in an official statement from the 425th Assault Regiment.

Earlier, the publication “Babel” reported on seven more soldiers from the regiment who died less than a month after arriving at the unit. According to journalists, their deaths were not related to combat operations.

What is known about the cases described by “Babel”?

Among the soldiers mentioned by the publication is 43-year-old Serhii Bohdanov. According to official documents, he died of cardiovascular failure. However, his mother claims to have photographs showing bruises on her son’s face.

Another servicemember is 38-year-old Ihor Chausov. The official cause of his death was listed as intoxication and poisoning. However, his wife released photographs in which, she says, his fingers and toes appear blue.

According to their relatives, Serhii Bohdanov and Ihor Chausov did not have drug addictions. At the same time, “Babel” reported that another of the seven deceased soldiers was undergoing substitution maintenance therapy.

What the “Skelia” Regiment says?

The 425th Special Forces Regiment stated that the circumstances of the soldiers’ deaths varied:

• three died in hospitals;
• three, according to the regiment, died of natural causes;
• one soldier committed suicide.

The unit called for each case to be evaluated separately, based on documents, investigation results, and testimony.

The regiment also reported that it continues to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and is working on changes to the training of mobilized soldiers and communication with their families to reduce the number of non-combat casualties.

What else is known about the violations in the “Skelia” Regiment?

As a reminder, in May, “Suspilne Ivano-Frankivsk” reported, citing its own sources, that in March, five “Skelia” soldiers died shortly after being mobilized. Some of them had served in the unit for less than two weeks.

In June, the publication “Babel” released an investigation stating that 26 deaths of recruits were recorded in the training units of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelia” from late fall 2025 to spring 2026. Some of the cases have medical diagnoses, while others are linked to suicides or injuries. The regiment and the Office of the Military Ombudsman offer differing assessments of the causes and circumstances of the incidents.

On June 24, the State Bureau of Investigation entered the information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations and launched an investigation following media reports of alleged torture and deaths of conscripts in the “Skelia” Assault Regiment.

On June 25, Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reported that he had received information about possible torture and the establishment of detention facilities in the 245th Regiment. He announced the launch of an urgent investigation into the unit.

Yurii Harkavyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelia,” has been suspended from duty pending an investigation into possible unlawful actions against the unit’s servicemembers.

Oleksii Sukhachov, the director of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), stated that prior to the publication of the journalistic investigation, the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" had not been the subject of any complaints from the military command or other relevant agencies to the State Bureau of Investigation regarding possible violations.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Ukrainian journalist and Sky News’ chief producer in Ukraine, Azad Zafarov, stated that in 2025, while filming with the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelia,” a car with a female driver inside was shot at point-blank range. The regiment commander, the operational press center, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not respond to journalists’ inquiries and did not conduct an internal investigation into the incident.