Abduction and murder of two brothers: what is known about involvement of 155th SMB commander Luchanov
Two brothers are forcibly taken from their home courtyard amid gunfire. Their trail is lost in the Poltava region, at the deployment site of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade (SMB). They are found killed.
The Butusov+ channel published an interview by Iryna Romaliiska with Hromadske journalist Diana Butsko about the murder of two civilians from a village in the Kyiv region. A group of servicemen from the 155th Brigade, led by brigade commander Stanislav Luchanov, is suspected of committing the crime.
The day before, Hromadske reported that eight servicemen from the 155th Brigade had been detained on suspicion of murdering two civilians. The crime reportedly occurred in the small village of Kalynivka in the Bila Tserkva district of Kyiv region. The victims’ bodies have already been exhumed. Brigade commander Stanislav Luchanov is wanted by the authorities. He allegedly ordered the servicemen to deal with the men over some kind of domestic dispute. The Military Law Enforcement Service later also reported the brigade commander’s possible involvement:
"An organised group of individuals involved in the unlawful deprivation of liberty and premeditated murder of two civilians in Kyiv region has been uncovered. As a result of the measures taken, the former commander of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade and all participants in the crime identified to date have been notified of suspicion of committing criminal offences involving unlawful deprivation of liberty and premeditated murder."
Incidentally, in its press release, the Military Law Enforcement Service stresses that it carried out this work, that is, conducted operational search measures and detained the suspects, on the instructions of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Syrskyi.
It is known that the suspects have already been remanded in custody for 60 days. Hromadske journalist Diana Butsko showed us the home of brigade commander Stanislav Luchanov, whose current whereabouts are unknown. He has been in hiding since two brothers were abducted in a small settlement in the Kyiv region where his family lives. Meanwhile, servicemen from his brigade are in the dock.
Diana, hello, and thank you for joining our broadcast. Please tell us how the conflict began. What happened between the brigade commander and these local residents? As we know from your report, they were two brothers. Please tell us about it.
So, the events took place in the village of Kalynivka in Kyiv region. It is a small village; honestly, it was difficult even to find it on the map because there is another Kalynivka nearby. Several hundred people live there. Luchanov’s wife and mother-in-law are from the village. They lived there, and Luchanov recently married Daryna, a local resident. Accordingly, he also spent time in the village. She is young, born in 2003. He divorced his previous wife in 2023, meaning he had lived with his new wife for several years. His wife has young children and often argued with local residents over the noise from motorcycles. Motorcycles were ridden through the village, and she was very unhappy about it. This is reportedly cited as the trigger: according to local residents, she may have complained to Luchanov himself, and he decided, how should I put it—not exactly to resolve the problem, but to intervene in an extremely brutal way.
So he simply decided to silence the motorcycles this way?
The conflict had been going on for some time. I do not know whether it had lasted several years, but it had certainly been ongoing. It is a small village, so there was constant talk and confrontation. On the eve of June 26, a group of people arrived in the village. As later emerged, they were the same suspects who have now been remanded in custody. The group walked around the village and went into a shop, among other places. The woman who works there told us that they showed her a list of names. Most likely, it was a list of men who owned those motorcycles. A 17-year-old boy was on the list, and they asked for these people’s addresses and where they could be found. They gave their surnames and asked where they lived. The shop assistant recounts this quite boldly. She asked them who they were and why they were trying to obtain people’s addresses, pointing out that there was a child on the list, as she knew that one of those listed was a minor. According to her, they allegedly said that they would deal with the people on the list in different ways and would deal with the minor in their own way, whatever that meant. They walked around the village but found no one that day, so they did not take anyone away. Incidentally, they claimed to be from the Military Law Enforcement Service, but showed no documents. And then, the following evening…
Diana, you are recounting what you managed to learn in the village itself, correct?
Yes, we went to the village yesterday and spoke with local residents. I talked to about a dozen people, and they all gathered together. The abduction involving a brigade commander took place two weeks ago, yet no one knew about it. We were the first journalists to visit the village. They wanted to speak out and attract public attention—first, to secure justice for the Moseichuk brothers and, second, to obtain public protection for themselves, because their relatives were on the list, including one child, as I have already mentioned. They fear for all these people’s lives and for the lives of their relatives because they know Luchanov, who lived nearby or at least regularly appeared there and they are terrified.
For example, the report will include testimony from the Moseichuks’ brother. There were three brothers in the family. He asked us not to show his face because, for some reason, it was he who was on the list, rather than the two brothers who were abducted. This raises many questions. People are afraid and do not know what will happen next. I hope this publicity will genuinely offer them some protection, because people cannot simply come to a village, take residents away, abduct them and threaten them... What did they actually intend to do to the other people on the list? What were they planning? Was there some kind of plan?
So they did not find anyone that evening. What happened next?
They left after finding no one, then returned the following evening and went to the country house where Roman and Maksym Moseichuk were spending time. They broke in, forced the brothers to the ground and shot one of them in the leg. They apparently pulled balaclavas over their heads, tied their hands and took them away. There were surveillance cameras at the country house. Luchanov’s family had a drone that frequently flew over the village to scout the area, including above the brothers’ country house.
They stole the surveillance camera servers, took the brothers away, and drove in two vehicles to the Poltava region, where the brigade was based.
Were they taken there and killed there?
According to the accounts they gave in court, as relayed to me, the hearings on their pre-trial restrictions were held quietly. I had asked to be notified when the hearings would take place. They told me that the date was still unknown and that no notices of suspicion had been issued, but I later discovered that the hearings were already taking place that very day. I know this from a local activist who was the only person present in court. This is the sequence of events described there: the brothers were taken to the Poltava region, killed there, and buried there. The police then tracked down the first group, which had been in hiding. After that group was found, its members disclosed further details. By questioning various participants in the events, the police eventually discovered where the bodies had been buried.
How did the police become involved? Who reported the abduction, and how did the police track them down?
Their brother reported it, I believe, on the third day. In other words, he went to the police several days later. They are not always eager to open a case.
Why did he not go to the police immediately?
He did not find out right away. He does not live in the village. They were spending time at the country house, and no one knew they had disappeared or suspected anything. Their mother is not fully capable of caring for herself. She suffered a stroke, and because their father had been killed at the front, she had also endured severe stress. Their brother did not know what had happened. They did not answer his calls, so he later came from a neighbouring settlement, saw that they were gone and that the server room was open, and then filed a police report.
I know that the criminal proceedings were registered on 4 July.
And they were taken on the 27th?
On 27 June, yes.
All right, understood. Tell us what exactly is known about the two brothers.
The brothers were local residents and had a family. The eldest, Roman, was 36, Maksym was 35, and Serhii was 34. They had lived in the village all their lives. Their father had moved there from the Zhytomyr region years ago.
When the invasion began, their father and Maksym joined the military. Their father fought until 2023, when he was killed. Maksym continued serving for another year after his father’s death. He fought for two and a half years, beginning as a grenade launcher operator. He served in combat positions and was directly involved in combat. A year after his father’s death, he was discharged from service at his family’s request because his mother was in a difficult condition after everything she had endured. He was discharged, and all three brothers were eligible for deferment from military service following their father’s death. They lived in the village and apparently took on various odd jobs, sometimes travelling elsewhere for construction work. They were ordinary village men.
What did people in the village tell you about Luchanov’s family and about the atmosphere you sensed while speaking with local residents?
It was very interesting because when I first arrived, not everyone wanted to speak. There was some apprehension. Some said that perhaps they should wait for the investigation and avoid obstructing or interfering with it. I do not know whether anyone had been intimidated. Perhaps no one had been, but given that they suspect people from Luchanov’s circle of simply taking people away in the middle of the night, they fear that the same thing could happen again. But as we spoke with the relatives, other people began approaching us and said they wanted to talk. As I mentioned earlier, they fear for their relatives’ lives and fear that someone will come for the next people on that list. They pleaded with us to publicise the case, talk about it, and ensure that it received attention. The family had lived there for a long time. You know how people in villages say various things. They said the family was more reserved and did not socialise much with everyone else. Those are personal matters. But one interesting detail that caught my attention was that local residents said the family became wealthy after Luchanov joined it as a son-in-law. They had not been particularly wealthy before that. Afterwards, they built a house and drove expensive cars. Everyone in the village noticed it. I should also mention that when I arrived yesterday, most residents did not know that the brothers had been killed. They only knew that they had been abducted. The police’s communication in this case is deeply troubling because the villagers learned about the deaths from the media yesterday evening. I had published a report saying only that the brothers had been abducted, but information that they had been killed was subsequently made public. Their relatives did not know. They called the police themselves yesterday evening to ask whether it was true. They were invited to identify the bodies, but that will not take place until tomorrow. I asked the police why they had not informed the family, but they have not provided a clear answer.
Frankly, I find all of this deeply alarming.
Just to clarify: were the bodies indeed found on the military unit’s grounds?
They were found in the Poltava region. I do not know the exact location and need to clarify whether it was the brigade’s official registered address, but witnesses say its training ground was there. Like those used by separate assault regiments—although this is not a separate assault regiment. We know that some of the suspects previously served with Skelia and are now in the 155th Brigade. They established tented sites—not exactly military camps, but training grounds where recruits were trained and brigade personnel were accommodated.
Yes, this is an appropriate time to recall who Stanislav Luchanov is. He took command of the 155th Brigade in February of this year. Before that, he served with Skelia, where, unfortunately, alongside the heroic fight against the Russians, horrific abuses have also occurred internally—including beatings and abuse of personnel, and even deaths have been reported. Luchanov served with Skelia and was then appointed commander of the 155th Brigade. Another scandal erupted there after his appointment. As a reminder, the DTP Kyiv social media page published a video showing one serviceman beating another in front of personnel standing in formation. The assailant told his victim that he owed his life to the battalion commander and, to quote him, "You should be kissing his feet. Learn what war is." In other words, this occurred while Luchanov was already in command. As far as I know, the matter did not directly implicate Luchanov because the brigade said at the time that he had not been involved, while the State Bureau of Investigation opened criminal proceedings against the assailant.
I did not know much about Luchanov. I think there are many such stories there. We know that he moved from Skelia to the long-troubled 155th Brigade. It was Yurii Butusov who first began reporting on the problems within this brigade, which France had helped train. It later emerged that many of its servicemen had gone AWOL. The brigade then suffered heavy losses under its new commander, Maksymov, leaving few personnel. After that, the brigade was handed over to Luchanov, who came from Skelia. They had fought together in the Pokrovsk sector throughout this period. Luchanov came to the brigade ostensibly to make it more combat-capable, and stories like these immediately began to emerge. I think there are many such stories there.
I have also begun receiving messages containing strange stories about Luchanov and alleging that he may have been involved in various schemes, but I will not disclose them yet. This is the only case that has become public, and we do not know how many others there may be. But it seems to me that even this case indicates that Luchanov was transferring these practices from Skelia to the new brigade and attempting to spread them there. Moreover, I want to emphasise that, forgive me, an entire battalion commander is now in the dock. He is the one suspected of committing the murder, while the others are suspected of the abduction. Accordingly, he is suspected of being the person who actually carried out the killing. There is also the brigade command sergeant major, an important member of the brigade leadership. We still do not fully know Luchanov’s status. In my view, this suggests that they were building a system within the brigade—a system in which the brigade commander could issue such an order to a group of servicemen and it would be carried out not only by soldiers, but also by a battalion commander. I am deeply shocked. When I first heard about it, I honestly thought something had been confused or perhaps exaggerated and that it was not true. But the fact that a brigade commander could be involved in all of this and that his orders were carried out by people including officers—in civilian terms, various senior brigade officials—suggests to me that he had created such a system within the 155th Brigade, probably a criminal one. Yes, I understand that they are all suspects and that there has been no verdict, but all of this is extremely frightening.
Diana, what have they been saying in court?
I was not in court, and we have only limited information. As I understand it, they probably described everything only in very general terms. The case was not being heard on its merits; these were remand hearings. A local activist who attended the hearing told me that, when explaining how they had been involved in one way or another, they said they had been following orders from the brigade leadership. They did not name anyone, but they referred to orders from the leadership.
So they did not say that Luchanov had ordered them to do it?
I do not know what they told investigators, but we know that Luchanov went AWOL and disappeared, and that he is now wanted. I think investigators have more evidence that may indicate his involvement, but let us wait. I know little about the court hearings because, as I said, they simply passed unnoticed. The local activist tried to ask the alleged perpetrator why he had killed the men. He phrased the question that way, but the man did not respond. His lawyer immediately intervened and asked him not to draw conclusions because there had not yet been a verdict.
Diana, tell our viewers why Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi is also facing accusations in connection with this case. What did he allow to happen? I read a Facebook post by one of our colleagues saying that he allowed this to happen, that these were his favourites whom he had enabled, and so on.
Luchanov came from Skelia, and some of the suspects had also previously served with Skelia. These practices, again, are multiplying and spreading. There are many offences within the separate assault regiments. Our colleagues at Babel recently published an investigation showing that many people were dying during basic combined arms training. Again, I should say that many servicemen report deaths at various basic combined arms training centres, including deaths from illness. There are serious problems there, but that is a separate issue. However, when we see what appears to be 30 deaths already, it raises a great many questions. We know that systematic human rights violations occur there. The question is whether the Commander-in-Chief knows about them. He certainly does now. Nevertheless, questions must be put to Syrskyi and also to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Following the scandal surrounding Babel’s publication, and despite everything currently known about the separate assault regiments—and I think Zelenskyy knows even more—he nevertheless decided to establish them as a separate branch of the Armed Forces. He did not call it the Assault Forces. I know that Fedorov has also said that Ukraine will have Drone-Assault Forces. In my view, this is merely a cover because, in practice, the assault regiments will remain; yes, they will have drones and artillery. But the separate assault regiments will continue to exist and, moreover, have been placed within a separate structure. Many people opposed this and asked for the regiments to be distributed among the corps instead. But no: there will still be a separate structure containing assault regiments. It will be headed by an officer with a fairly good reputation, Voloshyn, an officer from the Air Assault Forces, but that still leaves many questions unanswered. We know that Syrskyi strongly lobbied for this initiative and wanted an Assault Forces Command. He clearly did not envision it in this particular form. Some may regard it as an intermediate compromise that gives neither Syrskyi nor the public what they wanted, but I still do not understand it. These accusations are probably being directed at Syrskyi because human rights violations in the assault regiments have been known about for a very long time. Despite this, he continued supplying them with personnel. If the 225th and 425th Regiments alone have approximately 30,000 personnel—we know they have roughly 15,000 each, although we do not know the exact figures—just think: 30,000 people. Those personnel could have been extremely useful to Ground Forces brigades suffering from infantry shortages. Nevertheless, Syrskyi continued allocating personnel and the latest equipment to these separate assault regiments. These regiments were given priority: they received Abrams tanks and other Western equipment. And they continued to expand. I think all of this has had consequences. Some people—and we should not generalise, because these units undoubtedly include Heroes of Ukraine and people fighting in the most difficult sectors—appear to have come to believe that they could do whatever they wanted without facing consequences. Syrskyi cannot be absolved of responsibility, nor can Zelenskyy, because these practices could have been stopped earlier. Commanders told me that Syrskyi most likely knew everything that was happening in Skelia and the 225th Regiment, yet it continued.
It appears that the information was being concealed...
I do not have the impression that anyone is trying to cover up the case. It was entered into the register of investigations on 4 July, the first group was found immediately, followed by the second, and an investigative reenactment has already been conducted in the village. The police are working.
I do not know the reason or whether there was something more behind it, such as an attempt to shield someone. Perhaps they simply did not want yet another scandal involving Skelia. This is not Skelia, but these are, shall we say, people connected to it. Perhaps they were genuinely trying to avoid another contentious situation becoming public. Although when a brigade commander goes AWOL, it is bound to become known sooner or later. I also warned the police that they did not have to comment, but I would make the information public. Interestingly, it was servicemen who first told me about it. Again, there had been no leak from law enforcement to the media, so no one had seen the suspects, but the military knew about the case. The brigade commander had gone AWOL, and it is difficult not to notice that a brigade commander is no longer at his post. Rumours began spreading among the military. One serviceman wrote to me, then another, and then someone else confirmed it. I know that other journalists and colleagues also began hearing about it specifically from servicemen. Therefore, I cannot say that the case is not being investigated, but the issues I have mentioned are deeply concerning.
Just to clarify: was it servicemen from this brigade who informed you?
No. To give you an idea of how widely the story had spread, everyone was talking about it. I heard about it from very different people in various structures. The entire military was talking about it even before it became public.
Do you know what is happening within the brigade now?
Honestly, I do not. I had not been following this brigade and do not have any reliable sources there who would be willing to contact me. But if anyone watching this broadcast would like to tell us what is happening, we journalists would certainly be glad to hear from them.
All right. What is your prediction for this case? How do you think events will develop? Or, to put it more accurately, predictions are difficult—how would you like events to develop?
I would like those who committed this crime to end up behind bars, but there must be due process. If these people are proven guilty, they should receive the appropriate punishment. I would like Luchanov and his family to be found because people in the village say that someone in the family may have compiled the lists. After all, Luchanov did not know everyone in the village. Only someone else would have known them—I do not know who, and I will not claim that it was his wife, his mother-in-law or perhaps another relative of Daryna Luchanova. I would like the family to be found, appropriate decisions to be made, and everything to be publicly announced. In fact, it remains unclear whether Luchanov has been notified of suspicion. The Military Law Enforcement Service’s statements also appear to say that he features in the case. What does that mean? What will he be suspected of? Is he considered to have ordered the crime or not? First, I want a fair investigation. Second, I want the practice of multiplying assault regiments, including under different names, to end. Unfortunately, I do not think it can be stopped now because a separate branch of the Armed Forces has already been created and a commander appointed. It is simply appalling. I want everyone to stop pretending that nothing is happening and stop pretending that this can be changed quickly. Despite what has been announced, perhaps the new commander really will bring in a team from the Air Assault Forces and introduce some changes. But as I said, this is a very large structure. These are already very large units with their own established system. We can see that it is a system, and I do not know whether it can be changed merely by reassigning a few individuals. I would like to see acknowledgement and awareness of all the risks and problems that exist within the separate assault regiments.
Well, I hope that is what happens. I share your expectations. We will see how it unfolds. Diana, thank you very much. That was Diana Butsko, a journalist with Hromadske, who told us all what is happening within the 155th Brigade.
We will continue following this story. I also want to address you, our viewers. If you have any information about what is happening within the brigade or know of any other crimes, please contact us by email or through our Telegram channel.
Photo: Diana Butsko / Hromadske
