“Who exactly am I supposed to answer here as?!” — Chief Sergeant Kolomiiets angrily shouted into the microphone when asked about 10 million hryvnias in gold bullion and foreign currency. He complained about being “hated” and insisted that he was just a “small cog” who had simply learned to save on breakfasts over the past 30 years.
Representatives of district territorial recruitment centers from Brovary, Vyshhorod, Bila Tserkva, and Bucha testified at a meeting of a parliamentary Temporary Investigative Commission. The main topics discussed were violations of citizens’ rights, conflicts with lawyers, and the origin of significant assets declared by certain servicemen.
During the meeting, the atmosphere remained tense, especially when discussing property and wealth. In particular, explanations regarding accumulated gold bullion and large amounts of cash drew attention, with TCC representatives claiming these were earned before mobilization.
While representatives explained internal procedures — from the use of body cameras to cooperation with counterintelligence supervisors — Oleksii Honcharenko and other commission members recorded testimonies regarding cases of physical force and corruption risks.
So how did they explain the origin of gold assets, what did they say about accusations of obstructing legal activity, and do “price lists” for TCC services really exist? Journalists from UA.News listened to the testimonies together with the head of the commission, Oleksii Honcharenko, and MPs Kira Rudik, Alina Zahoruyko, and Yuliia Yatsyk.
The leadership of regional and district recruitment centers was invited to provide explanations, including Colonel Volodymyr Novosiadlo, head of the Kyiv Regional TCC; Yurii Teplyuk, head of the Brovary district TCC; Yaroslava Kamuza, head of the administrative violations review group of the Bucha TCC; Ruslan Holovkin, legal assistant to the head of the Boryspil TCC; Iryna Kravchenko, head of the administrative violations group of the Bila Tserkva TCC; Serhii Nopriienko, deputy head of the Vyshhorod TCC; Mykhailo Bilous, legal assistant of the Obukhiv TCC; Oleh Kolomiiets, senior recruitment instructor of the Bucha TCC; and Andrii Yevtushenko, deputy head of the Bucha TCC.
It was Yevtushenko who explained the incident involving Danylo Kolesnyk, a player of Kolos-2, and TCC staff, which occurred in the village of Sviatopetrivske on February 17 of this year.
TCC explanation: the young man fell on his own
Kolesnyk told the media that he stood up for a neighbor, after which a TCC representative attacked him first. According to the footballer, his cornea was ruptured. Video footage also shows the man he defended being hit by a car, while TCC representatives allegedly threatened people with weapons.
What Deputy Head of the Bucha TCC Andrii Yevtushenko said:
“On February 17, a notification team together with police was conducting activities in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. A 25-year-old citizen was stopped for a document check. The young man tried to run away, slipped on the snowy ground, and fell on his own. At that moment, a black Mercedes stopped nearby, and an aggressive man (Kolesnyk — editor’s note) got out. He began using obscene language, threatening physical violence and the use of weapons — a holster was visible on his belt.
At that time, Sergeant Olkhovyk was helping the fallen man get up. Instead, Kolesnyk, without reason, struck the sergeant twice in the face. Police detained the attacker. Serviceman Olkhovyk (a combat veteran) suffered a concussion and was hospitalized. Kolesnyk has now been formally charged under Part 2 of Article 350 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.”
Following the incident, an internal investigation was conducted at the Bucha TCC. According to Yaroslava Kamuza, no violations or unlawful actions by military personnel were found. The materials were transferred to the National Police.
Complete personnel replacement
The commission then discussed events from August 2024. Law enforcement uncovered a draft evasion scheme involving former head of the Bucha TCC Leonid Vykochko. During searches, over $1 million and assets worth 21 million hryvnias were seized from Vykochko and two accomplices.
The scheme was based on falsifying medical commission conclusions declaring individuals unfit for service. The former official is now suspected of obstructing the Armed Forces, bribery, and illegal enrichment totaling 14.4 million hryvnias.
Commission members asked whether anyone connected to those schemes still works in the system. Yevtushenko categorically denied this:
“I was appointed on September 9, 2024. After those events, 100% of the personnel were reassigned to combat units. We entered with an entirely new staff. Currently, we have 44 personnel. About 90% are partially fit servicemen transferred from combat units, including veterans and seriously wounded soldiers. I am also a combat officer. We strictly ensure no one from the ‘old guard’ is involved.”
The case of lawyer Mariia Naselenko
However, this “strict control” appears questionable. The commission reviewed a complaint from lawyer Mariia Naselenko, who was allegedly beaten at the Bucha TCC in January 2025.
She is classified as having a Group 3 disability (due to an illness acquired during military service), a volunteer, and the mother of a 19-year-old volunteer currently fighting at the front.
Naselenko was providing legal assistance to Zakhar D., who, according to relatives, was unlawfully held at the TCC and pressured to sign a contract with an “undesirable” unit, despite already being assigned to the Omega battalion.
At the TCC, duty officer Major Oleh Chaikin denied her access to the client, saying: “That’s my decision.”
Police called by the lawyer removed a statement allegedly from the client refusing legal assistance. Later, relatives claimed the handwriting was forged, and the man was secretly removed from the TCC.
The conflict escalated the next day when Naselenko returned. Chaikin accused her of illegal filming and began twisting her arms and pushing her against a wall.
The woman, who has metal implants in her spine after three surgeries, lost consciousness after being struck. The officer forcibly took her phone, demanded the password, and accessed confidential legal data.
According to Naselenko, around five other servicemen stood by watching and “accidentally” pushed her. She described it as “group abuse,” saying she was thrown around “like a football.”
She was later hospitalized directly from the TCC building. Police opened a criminal case, and she was questioned in hospital.
Yevtushenko commented:
“The lawyer behaved provocatively. We provided all video materials to the Security Service of Ukraine. Later we communicated normally, even had coffee. The materials were handed to military counterintelligence.”
Meanwhile, TCC lawyer Yaroslava Kamuza stated that no criminal cases under relevant articles had been registered and no suspicions had been announced.
The “golden sergeant” of the Bucha TCC
Oleh Kolomiiets became widely known after declaring nearly 2 kg of gold bullion (about 8 million hryvnias), $35,000, €8,500 in cash, and jewelry worth 778,000 hryvnias.
Oleksii Honcharenko asked the key question: how could a regular sergeant accumulate such wealth?
Kolomiiets responded with a simple explanation — long-term savings.
However, he appeared confused and said:
“I feel like I’m in a parallel reality. I’ve been attacked in the media. I’m just a small cog. These assets have nothing to do with my service. They were earned from 1993 to 2021. I worked 32 years in telecommunications, from installer to deputy director. I know how to save and invest.
It’s not two kilograms of gold — that’s media distortion. The value increased due to rising gold prices. The physical weight hasn’t changed since 2018.”
He added that he kept all receipts and described a bank gold deposit that doubled in value after currency fluctuations.
MPs also asked about alleged “price lists” — $2,000 to remove someone from wanted lists, $6,000 for exemption from mobilization.
Yevtushenko responded: “We fight this as a whole team. Even such thoughts are suppressed. Maybe it exists somewhere, but not in our unit. We work only with police, use body cameras, and have full video surveillance. For us, it looks like a sketch from ‘95 Kvartal’…
…which is no longer funny.”
