Former SBU warehouse head Lypchuk sentenced over disappearance of ammunition worth 931,000 hryvnia

Verdict for shortage of military property

Ivano-Frankivsk City Court handed down a verdict against Oleksandr Lypchuk, former head of the warehouse of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Judge Olesya Zelenko found him guilty of negligence in military service. For this offence, the man was sentenced to five years of imprisonment. However, the court released the convicted person from actual serving of the sentence, replacing it with a one-year probationary period.

In addition to the criminal punishment, Lypchuk is obliged to reimburse the Security Service of Ukraine for the damage caused in the amount of 931,000 hryvnia. This amount corresponds to the value of the disappeared ammunition.

Investigation progress and first verdict

The criminal case arose against the backdrop of the disappearance of ammunition from the warehouse. Initially, the Ivano-Frankivsk City Court acquitted the former official in February. At that time, the court of first instance assumed that other officials might have been involved in the disappearance of the property. One of the witnesses emphasised that an unlimited number of people knew the alarm password.

However, the prosecution and the local SBU department did not agree with this decision and filed an appeal. They argued that the court groundlessly assumed the possibility of access by outsiders to the premises, which were under guard and sealed. At the same time, no facts of intrusion or theft were established.

On 2 October, the Ivano-Frankivsk Court of Appeal quashed the acquittal and sent the case for a retrial.

Admission of guilt and case details

During the hearing held on 21 October, Oleksandr Lypchuk admitted his guilt. He explained that after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, he decided to concentrate part of the weapons, ammunition and humanitarian aid in one place. Due to the large flow of military personnel to whom property was issued urgently, he did not keep proper records as required by the instructions, but recorded information only in his own notebook. According to the convicted person, this led to an unintentional shortage.

The court took into account that Lypchuk had served in the military for 23 years in sergeant and warrant officer ranks at the regional SBU department. In the case materials, he was characterised as a military serviceman who was indifferent in performing his official duties.

The verdict may be appealed.