Polish correspondent in Ukraine Michał Kozak commented on Maksym Holosny’s investigation
Sat.Jan. 2024
Maksym Holosny joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the first day of the full-scale invasion—February 24, 2022. Over three years of war, he advanced from private to junior lieutenant, platoon commander of the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) reconnaissance company of the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. However, instead of recognition for his service, the officer faced systemic corruption and lawlessness from senior commanders. And now, according to him, he is facing the threat of a contract killing.
The Warrior’s Path: From Private to Officer
Maksym Holosny, born in 1981, began his service as a senior scout in the 1st Rifle Battalion. In October 2023, he transferred to the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, where from June 2024 he served as the chief sergeant of the UAV platoon in the reconnaissance company.
In November 2024, he was sent to study at the Zhytomyr Military Institute named after S.P. Koroliov, where after three months of studies he obtained the rank of junior lieutenant. On February 16, 2025, he assumed the duties of UAV platoon commander of the reconnaissance company.
During all his service, Holosny has no disciplinary sanctions, reprimands, or even warnings. Under his command, the platoon went almost a year without casualties—no killed, wounded, or missing in action.
War Without Weapons or Protection
The most outrageous fact was that from February 16 to April 29, 2025, Holosny was in the combat zone without a weapon, and from February 16 to June 3—without protective equipment.
“From 16.02.2025 to 29.04.2025, I was in the combat zone and completed all assigned combat missions without a weapon, which is confirmed by a corresponding entry in my officer’s ID and the combat pay (DGV) credited to me for the period from 16.02.2025 to 03.06.2025,” the officer states in his appeal to the General Staff.
On May 14, 2025, he received a Makarov pistol from 1954 without cartridges and two F1 grenades. He only received a vest and helmet on June 4, 2025, by order of brigade commander Oleksandr Slipko, after the situation went viral on social media.
“04.06.2025 (11:00) The vest and helmet still have not been issued. THIS IS SOME KIND OF SPANISH SHAME AND DAMN CIRCUS IN ONE BOTTLE”, Holosny wrote on Facebook.
Corruption Schemes and Blackmail
The reason for such treatment, according to Holosny, was his principled stance against corruption in the unit. The officer categorically refused to pay bribes for a guaranteed annual leave.
“Neither the brigade commander nor the company commander have I ever paid—and will never pay—for the guaranteed annual leave.”, he states in his posts.
According to him, large-scale corruption schemes operate in the unit related to the payout of DGV (additional combat compensation). “The same crew, with the same members, goes to the same position for the same number of days, but everyone gets a different amount on their card,” the officer describes the situation.
Punished for Principles
For his principled stand, Holosny received harsh punishment from the command. On June 1, he learned that “at the brigade level, a decision was made, for successfully withdrawing the group with no losses and equipment, and for publicizing my actions on social media, to prohibit granting me the guaranteed annual leave, and to strip me of DGV combat pay to the tune of 100,000 UAH.”.
Brigade commander Oleksandr Slipko personally informed him of the ban on granting the guaranteed annual leave during a meeting on June 4, 2025.
Blackmail and Threats
On June 5, the situation escalated even further. Holosny reports: “During the war, when the enemy is advancing along almost the entire frontline, I am being blackmailed with a test on regulations knowledge, and hinted at being discredited as an officer!”
The brigade commander called him and left a voice message, calling him a bad platoon commander. “I can state personal hostility from my senior commander towards me, as a person who dared to write the truth on his page,” Holosny concludes.
Threat of Contract Killing
The most shocking was Holosny’s latest statement a few hours ago, in which he reports receiving information about a contract on his life.
“Three days ago, for the first time, I received information that, due to my principled decision not to pay for guaranteed annual leave and even more so for publicizing corruption schemes with combat payments (DGV), I have been simply targeted for elimination—and, for the record, the person who ordered it is a ‘knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’.”, the officer writes.
According to him, initially the brigade commander planned to humiliate him by subjecting him to an exam on regulations, but after the story went public “the knight decided to act more decisively and cunningly.”.
A Cynical Plan of Elimination
Holosny reveals details of the plan against him: “According to available information, citizen ‘SliPKO’, despite my MOS—063401, in turbo mode, through responsible persons from OC ‘EAST’, has already prepared my transfer to the ‘Skala’ assault regiment, having fully understood who exactly will shoot me in the back on my first combat mission with the new unit, and who exactly will officially declare me missing!”
“‘NO APPLICANT—NO PROBLEM!'”—that’s how Holosny himself characterizes the logic of the organizers.
In such a scenario, as the officer notes, “the initiator and those who devised and organized the unlawful DGV scheme will remain above suspicion. After all, this is war, and in war people often die or go missing, so to the organizer this story will seem quite normal.”.
Holosny notes that “according to the plan, the whole process should be a total surprise for me,” but he is “very grateful to everyone who warned me in advance about this situation.”.
“First and foremost, I will be understood by thousands of Ukrainian families who already have missing loved ones. My case is just one of numerous schemes of what happens to those who persist in their stand despite threats,” the officer writes.
Deliberate Undermining of Defense Capability
Especially disturbing is that due to personal animosity of the command, “the UAV platoon, despite having no reprimands or warnings, is deliberately not being nominated for state and departmental awards and has the fewest official leaves in the brigade.”.
According to Holosny, this “indicates a deliberate reduction of the unit’s defense capabilities by a group of people acting in collusion.”.
On June 3, 2025, Holosny officially appealed to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General, and the State Bureau of Investigation, with a request to enter the presented facts into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations and to assign an internal investigation.
“I do not exclude that the reconnaissance company commander, acting in collusion with other officials, deliberately undermined the combat capability of the UAV platoon of reconnaissance company Military Unit A 4741, which remains one of the most effective UAV platoons in the brigade,” he states in his appeal.
Initiatives Despite Obstacles
Despite all the obstacles, Holosny continues to implement useful initiatives. On his own, he organized rehabilitation for wounded and traumatized soldiers using a flight simulator to learn how to operate FPV drones.
“This is actually a pretty good initiative that, with the slightest desire from the same brigade commander, could be expanded to all units at the brigade level,” the officer notes.
The Struggle Continues
Maksym Holosny’s story is becoming increasingly dramatic. From fighting corruption and injustice, the case has escalated to threats to his life. The officer who voluntarily stood up for his country on the first day of invasion has gone from private to platoon commander, only to face not just systemic corruption in his own ranks but also the real threat of physical elimination.
“Everything that happens after this post will be maximally publicized, because the country must know its ‘heroes’ by face,” Holosny declares, continuing his fight for justice even under threat to his life.
As the officer notes: “Fight—and you will overcome, God helps you!”—and his example shows that even in conditions of war and mortal threats, it is possible and necessary to fight corruption and lawlessness, regardless of personal risks and persecution.
