SAA event in Odesa area, Ukraine on Tue 28th April 2026

Odessa police neutralized a group of individuals who deprived a man of his liberty, physically abused him, and demanded a fictitious debt in exchange for his freedom. The accomplices posed as military personnel from various law enforcement agencies and traveled around the city in cars with fictitious diplomatic license plates. The perpetrators were exposed with the participation of KORD special forces.

Operatives of the Odessa Department of the Internal Security Department of the National Police, together with investigators from the Odessa police, detained a group of criminals who had committed serious crimes for their own profit. 

As it turned out, the accomplices ran up to the 44-year-old businessman in one of the city's parking lots and, simulating an arrest on behalf of law enforcement agencies, forcibly pushed him into their car. In the car, they handcuffed him, put a mask on his head, and took him to a neighboring region. After some time, they returned to the Odessa region, where they placed him in an abandoned household. 

There, the accomplices used physical violence against their victim: they strangled him with a rope until he lost consciousness, beat him on the soles of his feet with electric shocks and rubber batons, squeezed his head in a homemade vice, beat him in the chest, and jumped on the man's arms, who was already helpless. 

In between the beatings, the attackers demanded $360,000 in exchange for his freedom. When the man said he didn't have that much money, the men continued the abuse. The man lost consciousness more than once from the terrible pain. 

Unable to bear the "torture," the victim agreed to the extortionists' conditions, contacted his wife, and ordered her to give the kidnappers $152,000. The frightened wife handed over the money to the attackers. The businessman was soon released. The man was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Law enforcement officers conducted a number of operational and investigative measures and identified the main participants in the crime. They turned out to be two local residents, one of whom is a native of Russia. 

The suspects had no connection to military departments, but simply posed as their employees in order to move around the city and through checkpoints without hindrance. To do this, they even used "fake" documents from both military formations and car license plates. 

The police conducted authorized searches of the suspects. During the events, weapons, identification cards with signs of forgery, various military documents, fake car license plates, handcuffs, tie-downs, various tactical clothing, plate carriers, a tactical helmet, and other physical evidence were seized from the perpetrators. The seized items were sent for examination. 

Also, on one of the suspects, law enforcement officers found medals and coins with the inscriptions "Foundation Year 1147 Moscow", "Reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia", as well as Russian army uniforms. The involvement of the suspects in the Russian army and their relationship to the aggressor country is currently being verified.

Under the procedural guidance of the Black Sea District Prosecutor's Office, police investigators charged two suspects under Part 3 of Article 146 (Unlawful Deprivation of Liberty or Kidnapping of a Person) and Part 4 of Article 189 (Extortion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They face up to 12 years in prison. 

In addition, the issue of additional qualification of the crime of Article 127 (Torture) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is being resolved.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. DVB operatives are establishing the involvement of other individuals in the activities of the attackers.