The court has ruled to detain a deputy of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, who is suspected of fictitious military service and payment scams
According to the ruling, Marianna Kiziyarova (formerly Miroshnychenko) will be held in custody with the possibility of bail. This decision was another step in the investigation, which raises the issue of possible abuses in the military and corruption schemes among local government officials. The prosecutor insisted on detention with the alternative of bail in the amount of 908 thousand hryvnias, while the defense requested the application of night house arrest or the establishment of a financial bail in more moderate limits. However, the court chose a compromise option - either 52 days of detention or a bail of more than 750 thousand hryvnias (757 thousand UAH). Radio Svoboda journalists report that when choosing a preventive measure, the court took into account the circumstances and the nature of the deputy's suspicious actions. At the hearing, Kiziyarova refused to comment on the situation, although she had previously categorically denied all the accusations on her social media, trying to minimize their impact on her reputation. At the same time, the court decided to prohibit showing her face in photographs and videos, which, given the nature of the case, is intended to preserve her personal dignity during the investigation. According to the direct participants in the proceedings and the published video recording, during the hearing, the defendant confirmed her military service. She noted that she worked in a military unit as a "line operator", and also confirmed that her military ID card states that she is a serviceman whose service is focused on "finances". When asked about the weapon she was given, she replied that it was a "Kalashnikov assault rifle", but refused to specify the model and caliber, noting that "the numbers are not mine". She also reported that she was demobilized "due to family circumstances," but did not provide further details about the reasons for this. What preceded this event? On June 18, it became known that employees of the State Bureau of Investigation had uncovered a scheme for a female deputy, who is a member of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, to undergo fictitious military service. According to the released audio recordings and other materials of the investigation, in conversations, representatives of military structures discussed a plan to undergo military service as a "fighter", who had to be "shown" in the hall during formal procedures and then "released", as well as to provide the appropriate fictitious status to receive payments and create a positive image for her. In one of the voice messages, the deputy commander of the military unit addressed the head of the training center with a request to "resolve the issue" regarding the local deputy. According to him, this person was supposed to "apply to the military unit", appear in the unit, and then be "released" without undergoing real service. In another conversation, the subject herself boasts to her mother that she became a soldier for convenience and prestige, and also claims that she serves as a UAV operator in a mock trench. She added that she completed the "training", which she called a "terrible place", in just 2 hours, hinting at her superficial attitude towards military training. This whole situation with the exposure of a fictitious service and possible abuses is currently being actively investigated by law enforcement agencies. The investigation is ongoing, and for now this is only the first step in a larger fight against corruption and fraud in the military, which still remain one of the most acute problems in Ukraine.