Former Ukrainian minister Omelyan faces 10 years for deceiving commanders to skip military duties

Omelyan joined the military on February 24, 2022, the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion. According to investigators, after mobilization he served as a planning officer on the staff of a military unit but for an extended period failed to perform his assigned duties.

SBI investigators determined that Omelyan was responsible for gathering and analyzing battlefield intelligence, monitoring compliance with command orders, and preparing proposals for combat planning. Instead, he allegedly systematically misled his superiors by claiming to be performing other tasks related to logistics and unit support.

"During several periods in 2022–2023, the man spent his duty hours at his own discretion and performed none of the obligations associated with his military service at a unit stationed in Cherkasy Oblast," the SBI said.

Omelyan was charged under Part 4 of Article 409 of Ukraine's Criminal Code — evading military service duties through deception committed under martial law — which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

hromadske is trying to contact Omelyan for comment.

More about Omelyan

Omelyan served as Ukraine's minister of infrastructure from 2016 to 2019.

In 2020, he was charged for allegedly causing 30 million hryvnias in damages to the state through reductions in port tariffs and fees. The following year, Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court acquitted him in that case.

In 2018, he was charged for alleged illicit enrichment and filing false asset declarations. That case was closed in 2020 due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.