Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) have detained three high-ranking Ukrainian military officials accused of failing to properly defend the Kharkiv region during a Russian offensive in May 2024.
According to an official statement published on January 20 by the DBR, those detained include a brigadier general, a lieutenant general, and a colonel.
The investigation alleges that the officials, who held key leadership positions in Ukraine's territorial defense, neglected to adequately prepare defensive positions along the border areas of the Kharkiv region.
During the renewed Russian assault, they reportedly lost control over their troops, contributing to the loss of strategic territory in the region.
Charges against the detained officers include negligent military service during wartime and the organization of an unauthorized retreat from the battlefield.
If convicted, the officials could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Authorities are currently determining pretrial restriction measures for the three detainees.
The arrests come as Ukrainian regions, including Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kherson, were hit by intense Russian attacks overnight. Local authorities reported two civilian deaths with four others injured due to shelling.
In the Donetsk region, one civilian was killed and another injured in the Pokrovsk district, where residential buildings sustained significant damage.
In Kherson, one civilian was killed in an attack while in Kharkiv, a 14-year-old girl was injured in Zolochiv, and a 45-year-old man was wounded after stepping on an explosive device.
Russian authorities, meanwhile, reported Ukrainian drone attacks in Kazan, the capital of the Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, early on January 20.
According to local officials, drones targeted a defense industrial facility.
They claimed there were no casualties or significant damage to the facility, which could not be independently verified.
The Kazan Aviation Plant, which manufactures strategic bombers used in Russia's war against Ukraine, was reportedly the main target, which if hit, could cause a major disruption to Russia's military operations in Ukraine.
Russian authorities said they temporarily closed airports in Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, and Izhevsk as a precaution. The airports were later reopened.
