In Ukraine, a former deputy commander of an AFU brigade was detained for attempting to sell a BRDM-2 with explosives

The deal was interrupted at the moment the money was handed over

In Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, a former deputy commander of a mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was detained with the rank of lieutenant colonel, along with his suspected accomplice. According to Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation, the officer tried to sell a BRDM-2 armored reconnaissance vehicle together with explosives for eight thousand dollars. The seized explosives had a yield of about 300 kilograms in TNT equivalent.

How the sale was prepared, according to the investigation

The investigation established that the officer unlawfully took possession of the armored vehicle and hid it on the territory of one of the military units. He then found a buyer, agreed on a price, and arranged the transfer of the equipment. To conceal the vehicle's origin, the perpetrators, according to the SBI, destroyed its factory serial number. The lieutenant colonel entrusted the actual delivery of the BRDM-2 to the sale site to his accomplice: at night, the accomplice drove the vehicle out of its hiding place and brought it to a forest belt, where a car transporter was already waiting for further transportation. The sale was not completed: when the intermediary was receiving the agreed eight thousand dollars, SBI officers detained him. The armored vehicle and the explosives were seized at the scene, and the former deputy brigade commander himself was subsequently detained as well.

What the suspects face

Both men have been charged with theft of military property by prior conspiracy under martial law. They face up to 15 years in prison. Investigators are seeking to have the suspects taken into custody during the investigation. The further fate of the seized equipment and explosives, as well as details of the deal — in particular, the identity of the buyer — are not disclosed in the SBI's statement.