Sasha's Corruption

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Polish media reported that he allegedly avoided at least 71 charges, including kidnapping for ransom, by cooperating with law enforcement as a “crown witness” in 2009 in the case focusing on the Pruszkow gang. Piotr Kapuscinski, part of the criminal gang in Poland, poses for a photograph holding a rifle. (crime.com.pl) Over a dozen other foreign fighters in conversation with the Kyiv Independent accused their commanders of stealing small arms and light weapons that they said went missing from the Legion’s armory rooms. Some soldiers witnessed arms being loaded into what they described as civilian SUVs to then vanish. It raised suspicions as the drivers often kept the lights off and weren’t wearing military clothes, legionnaires said. Burgis connected the case to the war in Ukraine and the renewed focus on the activities of oligarchs from the former USSR. “What is happening in Ukraine is a brutal, bloody new front in a war that has been going on for a long time, and that is the war against democracy waged by kleptocrats, those who rule through corruption, whether it be in central Africa or the former Soviet Union,” he said.

Corruption concerns involving Ukraine are revived as the war Corruption concerns involving Ukraine are revived as the war

The endemic abuse of power by the commanders made foreign fighters’ service to Ukraine way harder than it could have been.

Why Car Wash?

Two fighters independently said bayonets or knives for CZ and SCAR-L rifles disappeared from the armory room in Kyiv under Kapuscinski around April. In early May, a fighter from Brazil arrived in Ukraine to join the International Legion following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to “citizens of the world” to come and help defend Ukraine. I couldn't help but think that maybe if these weapons were in better hands that would have helped…or be used to win this war,” one soldier said. No reaction by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate for Intelligence, also known under its Ukrainian acronym GUR, and the President's Office followed the August investigation by the Kyiv Independent that focused on the military intelligence-run part of the Legion and exposed its commanders, including Kapuscinski’s misconduct in various cases.

corruption Ukrainian foreign legion troops accuse commanders of corruption

An investigation by the Military Prosecutor’s Office wouldn’t be the first time Kuchynsky has had trouble with the law. ‘Sasha Kuchynsky’ This guy was taking ammunition, rifles, sidearms, firearms, helmets, gear whatever he liked, I guess. He took it to his own personal quarters. And I saw this myself from the second-story window,” another soldier said.

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Legionnaires claim that Bohdan planned missions poorly and neglected most of his duties while in charge of the 1st Battalion. I was approached by the guys who serve in the International Legion. They shared with me the facts about weapons going missing,” said the SBU official in charge of the case. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to comment on the matter. Speaking on Wednesday after the ENRC case was dismissed, HarperCollins’ publishing director, Arabella Pike, said England’s legal system made it very hard to publish books of the type written by Burgis and Belton. “We need reform to the law in this country badly,” she said.

Tackling serious and organised crime - National Audit Office

That's when we assume that the ammunition started to go missing,” he said. He added that his commander told him that Kapuscinski, one of the leaders of the military intelligence-subordinated wing of the Legion, was in charge of the armory room there. After some time, his knee started hurting like never before. The medics told him he needed urgent surgery, adding that his meniscus should have been operated on months ago when it was first hurt. The word is out,” said a legionnaire who claims he was helping an unofficial British inquiry into arms going missing in the Legion.According to the Kyiv Independent’s sources inside the legion, Sasha Kuchynsky is not the man’s real name. He is allegedly Piotr Kapuscinski, a former member of a criminal organization from Poland, who fled to Ukraine after several run-ins with the law. In its previous article the Kyiv Independent reported about Kapuscinski pointing his gun at an American Jewish soldier after he had refused to give away his equipment to him. Despite the accusations and active investigations against him both in Ukraine and Poland, Kapuscinski maintains his high-level position in the Legion, according to the Kyiv Independent’s law enforcement and military sources.

Investigation: International Legion soldiers allege light

I went towards the gun. I stood in front of him and said: ‘You b*tch if you got a gun, shoot’,” Khmaladze said. Other legionnaires who were present during the conflict confirmed his recollection of events. Vashuk did not respond to the Kyiv Independent’s request for comment. In the other wing of the Legion, Kapuscinski often abused his power, too, according to the soldiers. We work to develop actionable solutions for today’s most pressing issues. Browse our work by topic below. View all

According to another American legionnaire, Kuchynsky also harassed female medics in their unit, using sexually suggestive language with them. According to the American soldier, the legion’s medics complained, but nobody did anything about it. The foreign medic he knew that was harassed by Kuchynsky is no longer with the Legion and has since left Ukraine, he said. Alexander Vinnik is escorted by police officers while leaving a court in Thessaloniki, Greece, October 4, 2017. Meanwhile, Kapuscinski is wanted in Poland for fraud. Following the Kyiv Independent’s August investigation into him, the Polish prosecutors once again requested from their Ukrainian colleagues help in bringing Kapuscinski to justice.