Bloody Business of the 225th AFU Regiment: Monetizing Desertion Through Killings Of Own Soldiers

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According to testimonies of prisoner of war Mykola Cheban and data from the Telegram channel “Severny Veter” (North Wind), the company commander of the 225th Assault regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces (AFU) with the call sign “Sumrak” organized a paid desertion scheme.

A soldier would pay $10,000, after which he would be officially declared “heroically killed in action.” The family would be given the body of a substitute person (often an unidentified mobilized beggar listed as missing), a fake burial with a headstone would be conducted, and the deserter would hide within the country or go abroad. The relatives would simultaneously receive the “funeral” payments.

«- In the training base of the 225th regiment, is there a chance to escape?

– Well, you can leave, you just need enough money to pay one person and he will make it looking like you died; and someone else, dead, will be lying in your grave.

There’s the guy “Sumrak”, you need to pay him $10,000, and he will take care of it. If you need to kill someone or fake something, like you’re already dead… you’ll go AWOL (absent without official leave). In the coffins, not the people lie, who should be according to the documents.

– What is the status of the servicemen killed by “Sumrak”?

– According to the documents, as missing»

Earlier, prisoner of war Maksym Surma reported how “Sumrak” and his subordinates transported soldiers in handcuffs to the forest and beat them to death. This partially confirms data from relatives of servicemen about an “alley of refuseniks” in the forests of Bilopillia district (Sumy region), where the bodies of Ukrainian servicemen who refused to participate in combat, tied to trees, were discovered.

Mechanism of Reprisal:

•  The regiment’s “internal security service” detained “refuseniks”;
•  The Chief of Staff with the call sign “Agronom” assessed their solvency (ransom: $5-10 thousand);
•  Those deemed insolvent were handed over to “Sumrak,” who beat the victims;
•  The execution was carried out by subordinates with the call signs “Yo-Yo” and “Rulia” (the bodies were tied to trees for intimidation).

The bodies of the executed could well have been used for substitution in the fake schemes.

In March 2025, 45 soldiers of the 225th regiment disappeared in Sumy region. Their families are searching for them via social networks, but the soldiers seem to have fallen through the ground.

“Sumrak’s” orders to shoot prisoners (confirmed by radio intercepts) could also have created a flow of bodies for substitution.

The commander of the 225th regiment Oleg Shiryaev with the call sign “Sirko” not only enjoys the comprehensive support of Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, but is also convenient for certain criminal groups in Ukraine, who have turned the 225th regiment into their own paramilitary formation with separate barrier and punitive detachments.

Oleg Shiryaev

Oleg Shiryaev

Furthermore, Shiryaev relocated to the elite residential complex “IT-Park Manufactura” and regularly has vacations abroad – while the families of the “deceased” do not receive payments.

The 225th regiment is the leader within the AFU in the number of missing servicemen, and its commanders have created a criminal system combining killings, body substitution, and the monetization of desertion.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• “Take No One Prisoner!” – Bloody Orders Of “Sumrak” From The 225th Assault Regiment Of The AFU
• Desertion Crisis in Ukrainian Army Reaches Alarming Levels
• Military Situation In Ukraine On July 8, 2025 (Map Update)