The prosecutor's office will seek a change in the pretrial measure for the former commander of the 103rd Brigade
The Prosecutor’s Office will appeal the court’s decision regarding the preventive measure imposed on Valery Kurk, former commander of the 103rd Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces. According to the investigation, due to the official’s negligence, 248 military personnel may have been unjustifiably awarded nearly 80 million hryvnias in additional payments.
This was reported by Yulia Shevchenko, spokesperson for the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense Affairs in the Western Region.
During the hearing on the pretrial measure, the prosecutor’s office requested that the suspect be remanded in custody with bail set at 1 million hryvnias. However, the court set bail at 66,000 hryvnias without detention. The funds were paid immediately. Currently, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense Affairs in the Western Region is preparing an appeal against this decision.
According to Shevchenko, the investigation alleges that the former commander was aware of whether or not there were grounds for paying increased additional compensation of up to 100,000 UAH per month, but failed to ensure proper oversight of the legality of such payments.
“Throughout April 2023 – January 2024, he signed orders to pay compensation to military personnel who did not take direct part in combat operations or activities aimed at ensuring national security and defense, repelling and deterring the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine,” Yulia Shevchenko reported.
According to the investigation, as a result, 248 military personnel from the brigade’s command units and certain support units unjustifiably received increased payments totaling nearly 80 million hryvnias.
In particular, the funds were paid to service members in administrative, planning, legal, personnel, state secrets protection, and other units belonging to the brigade headquarters and support units.
The prosecutor’s office noted that the former commander, as the brigade’s highest-ranking military officer, did not assign these units tasks whose completion could have served as grounds for awarding the maximum amount of additional compensation, nor did he oversee its payment.
The investigation established that the military unit’s combat documents—specifically, combat logs and combat reports—contain no evidence that these service members carried out combat or special missions.
The actions of other officials who may have been involved in the unlawful accrual and payment of funds are also currently under review.
“The mere fact that a brigade is stationed in a combat zone does not entitle all service members to receive additional compensation in the amount of 100,000 hryvnias. Such payments are intended only for those who directly carry out combat or special missions on the front lines. For other categories of military personnel, additional compensation of 30,000 or 50,000 hryvnias has been established, depending on the nature and conditions of the missions,” explained Yulia Shevchenko.
At the same time, the prosecutor’s office emphasized that the incidents that formed the basis for the notice of suspicion against the former commander do not concern the service members of certain battalions within the brigade who were directly carrying out combat missions and prevented a breakthrough by Russian forces in their area of responsibility.
According to the spokesperson, the violations were uncovered during an audit by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Following this, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation, and a follow-up audit by the Western Office of the State Audit Service confirmed the initial findings. A forensic economic examination and an internal investigation by the military command were also conducted, which likewise established the fact of unjustified payments. The officer was later transferred to another position.
Valerii Kurko headed the 103rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade from January 2022 to February 14, 2024. Previously, the colonel served as commander of the training battalion at the 199th Training Center of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to Suspilne.
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