Oleh Druz, Ukraine’s top psychiatrist, has been arrested on allegations of making vast sums during the war with Russia by accepting bribes to exempt soldiers from fighting
Ukraine’s top military psychiatrist has been detained on suspicion of exploiting the war with Russia by accepting bribes of $1 million (£812,600) to sign soldiers as unfit to fight.
Oleh Druz engaged in “illegal enrichment” by exempting mobilised fighters from the war in exchange for bribes, it is alleged. He faces up to ten years in jail if convicted. “According to the case materials, this official acquired unsubstantiated assets worth over $1 million during the full-scale invasion,” said the SBU secret service. The value was more than £812,000.
Druz accrued a property empire during the war, including a house in Kyiv region, two apartments in the city, one in Odesa, plots of land, and a fleet of four BMWs, and hundreds of thousands in cash. “The defendant did not reflect the relevant property in his official declaration and registered it in the name of his wife, daughter, sons, and other third parties,” alleged the SBU.
Druz – believed to be a colonel – was a key player in deciding which Ukrainians should be sent to war. He is alleged to have received illegal payments for exempting people from war service when Ukraine was under attack from Russia. Such allegations have been levelled in both Ukraine and Russia during the war, as both states mobilised civilians to fight in the conflict.
The case comes during a period of raised uncertainty and expectancy over what will happen with Donald Trump in the White House and his claims that he would end the Ukraine war immediately. Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping and emphasised their two countries’ close ties a day after Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president.
The two leaders discussed their prospective contacts with Trump’s administration during the video call that lasted more than one-and-a-half hours, the Kremlin said. They have developed strong, personal links that brought their relations even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. China has become a major customer for Russian oil and gas and a source of key technologies amid sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow.
In the call with Xi, Mr Putin emphasised that Russia-China relations are based on shared interests, equality and mutual benefits, noting they “don’t depend on internal political factors and the current international environment”. In remarks carried by Russian state TV, Putin is said to have told Xi: “We jointly support the development of a more just, multipolar global order, and work to ensure indivisible security in Eurasia and the world as a whole. Joint efforts by Russia and China play an important stabilising role in global affairs.”
Xi similarly praised their close co-operation, expressing his readiness to work together with Mr Putin to “lead China-Russia relations to a higher level, to cope with the uncertainty of the external environment with the stability and resilience of China-Russia relations,” and to “safeguard international fairness and justice”.
He emphasised that Russia and China should “continue to deepen strategic co-operation, firmly support each other, and safeguard the legitimate interests of the two countries”. While neither leader directly mentioned Trump in the televised fragment of their call, the Kremlin said they touched upon prospective contacts with the new US administration.
