In Vinnytsia, military officer Vlad Sord has been detained on suspicion of fraud.

On Friday, November 15, law enforcement officers detained a military blogger in Vinnytsia who deceived his followers while raising funds for weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In total, the man embezzled over 350,000 UAH from the fundraising for mortars, reported the press service of the National Police.

Although the National Police did not specify the name of the suspected military fraudster, blogger and volunteer Ihor Lachenko reported that it concerns 29-year-old Vladyslav "Zmiya" Hranetskyi-Stafiichuk, known as Vlad Sord. In 2022, he organized a fundraising campaign for mortars for the Armed Forces, but did not provide reports on their purchase and later admitted on social media that he did not buy military equipment.

"In July 2022, the man wrote on his page that he had the opportunity to purchase five foreign-made mortars worth approximately 3.5 million UAH. He justified the urgency and importance of the fundraising by stating that they would help the military in battles near Izium," the National Police press service reported.

According to the investigation, the military blogger kept part of the collected funds for himself. This amounts to 357,000 UAH, which the man used at his discretion.

The serviceman was arrested in Vinnytsia at his place of residence. He was informed of suspicion under part 3 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud committed under martial law that caused significant harm to the victim). He faces a fine or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.

What preceded Vlad Sord's arrest

In August 2023, a user on platform X with the nickname "(not)Scary woman" published posts about her relationship with Vlad Sord. According to her, he deceived her and was dating other girls during their relationship, giving them expensive gifts.

The girl's post was read by over half a million people, who urged the serviceman to provide reports on the spending of the 3.5 million UAH "for mortars." Initially, the man promised to publish the reports within a few weeks, but later admitted that he had not purchased the mortars and had spent the money "on other needs" of the "Seneca" unit of the 93rd Brigade of the Armed Forces, for which he announced the fundraising.

At that time, Vlad Sord held a five-hour conversation with journalists from "Babel" to share "his version of events," and later promised the former head of the military department "Come Back Alive," Andrii Rymaruk, to transfer the funds for the mortars to the foundation by October 2023. However, it is currently unknown whether the military returned the money.

Vlad Sord (Stafiichuk) fought in eastern Ukraine under the call sign "Zmiya." He served in the "Right Sector" and OUN, and was demobilized from the 93rd Mechanized Brigade. After returning from the war, he and his wife, writer Viktoriia Hranetska, founded a publishing house for mystical literature called "House of Chimeras."

It is worth noting that Vlad Sord was detained and arrested in March 2021 for hooliganism during a rally in support of activist and blogger Serhii Sternenko – according to the investigation, he allegedly came to the event with a pre-prepared weapon – a folding knife, and later struck the doors of the Office of the President with his hand, breaking the glass. Sord himself did not confirm whether he was the one who broke the windows at the OP.