The Rokytne District Court in Kyiv Region has ordered Stanislav Luchanov, the former commander of Ukraine’s 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade, to remain in custody for 60 days on suspicion of orchestrating the abduction and killing of two civilians.
According to Ukrainian media reports on Tuesday, the court granted prosecutors’ request to hold Luchanov in pretrial detention without the possibility of release on bail.
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Luchanov is charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty and the intentional murder of two civilians in the Kyiv Region. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.
However, when speaking in court, Luchanov denied all allegations.
Responding to journalists’ questions, he said he had never met the two brothers whose bodies were later found on military training grounds.
“I have never even seen them. The investigation will establish the rest,” he said.
Luchanov ordered commander to kill brothers
During the hearing, prosecutors alleged that Luchanov ordered the killing of brothers, Maksym and Roman Moseychuk, with the murders allegedly carried out by Senior Lt. Oleksiy Dolgolenko, a battalion commander in the 155th Brigade.
According to prosecutors, Luchanov issued the order on July 1, instructing Dolgolenko to kill the kidnapped brothers, specifying both the location and method of crime.
Prosecutors said Dolgolenko first drove Maksym Moseychuk from the brigade’s deployment area to a military training ground near Poltava.
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“Under the pretext of walking the remaining distance to the destination, Dolgolenko led Maksym Moseychuk away from the vehicle and fired several shots to his head, killing him on the spot,” the prosecutor told the court, as cited by Ukrainska Pravda.
Prosecutors allege Dolgolenko later returned with Roman Moseychuk, taking him to the same location and fatally shooting him eight times in the head and body.
According to investigators, the bodies were buried in a pit that had been dug in advance at the training ground.
Luchanov denied ordering the killings, saying he was on leave at the time and therefore could not have issued such instructions. However, he did not oppose the prosecutors’ request for pretrial detention and said he was prepared to cooperate with investigators.
Why were the Moseychuk brothers killed?
According to Ukraine’s National Police, officers received a missing persons report on July 3 after the brothers disappeared.
Investigators found signs of violence at their home, including damaged surveillance cameras, bullet impacts, and other physical evidence.
Several days later, their bodies were discovered in a forested area in the neighboring Poltava Region.
Police say the killings stemmed from an earlier dispute between one of the brothers and a local woman over loud music and motorcycle riding. Ukrainian media identified the woman as Daria Luchanova, the commander’s wife.
According to investigators, after she was allegedly insulted during the confrontation, Luchanov demanded an apology, which was refused. Police allege he then decided to retaliate by recruiting soldiers under his command.
Investigators say the servicemen entered the brothers’ property, abducted them at gunpoint, transported them to another region, and later killed them.
One of the suspects subsequently led investigators to the burial site, where the brothers’ bodies were recovered with multiple gunshot wounds.
So far, investigators have detained Luchanov and nine servicemen from the 155th Brigade.
Residents of Kalynivka told Hromadske they believe the brothers became targets after complaints by Luchanov’s wife that motorcycle noise was disturbing her young child.
Locals also claimed that, shortly before the abduction, servicemen from the brigade went door to door carrying a list of names and asking where those people lived.
Residents believe the list may have contained the names of motorcycle owners, although it reportedly included the brothers’ sibling, Serhiy Moseychuk, not Maksym or Roman.
Authorities promise accountability
On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko both condemned the killings.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and everyone responsible will be held accountable,” Zelensky said.
The president said the investigation extends beyond the Kyiv Region and stressed that establishing the full truth is important for the entire country.
He also said regional authorities and police had met with residents of Kalynivka and pledged support for the victims’ family.
“Everything promised to the community must be fulfilled. I thank everyone involved, including journalists, for keeping public attention on this case,” Zelensky wrote.
Klymenko said investigators reviewed dozens of surveillance cameras, tracked vehicle movements, and collected extensive evidence that enabled police to reconstruct the crime.
“The extensive work carried out by the National Police together with prosecutors has produced results – the detention of an organized criminal group. The investigation continues, and everyone responsible will be held accountable,” he said.
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