The assault regiment ‘Skelya’ provided detailed comments regarding the tragic incident involving serviceman Vitaliy Karat. According to representatives of the unit, the deceased initially climbed a pine tree, after which he fell and later died in the hospital.
This is reported by Finway
Circumstances of the Incident at the Training Ground
During the evening formation at the training ground, the absence of Vitaliy Karat was noted. Drones were deployed to search for him, and his location was quickly identified. The military attempted to persuade him to come down, but the man stated that he did not wish to serve and intended to escape. Witnesses reported that the negotiations lasted for over two hours. Ultimately, when Karat began to descend from the tree, he fell.
“The situation was at the training ground. During the evening formation, during the evening check, his absence was noted. Drones were raised, and a signature was found. The guys ran to search for him. They asked him to come down. He said he didn’t want to serve; he wanted to escape. He was persuaded for a long time. Witnesses said they persuaded him for more than two hours. After he started to climb down, he fell. I strongly caution against manipulation. I have already seen in some social networks that he fell from the pine tree and died. It was not like that,” said Andriy Surai, head of the civil-military cooperation group of the 425th OShP ‘Skelya’, in a broadcast on Radio Liberty.
Official Position of the Unit and the Family’s Position
After the incident, the soldier was sent to a tent, but the next day his condition significantly worsened — he developed a high fever. Vitaliy Karat was sent to the 59th mobile hospital with a suspicion of pneumonia. X-ray results revealed a broken rib and confirmed the presence of pneumonia. According to the medical commission’s conclusion, the cause of death was “multiple rib fractures.” Representatives of the regiment noted that after the soldier was transferred to the hospital, the unit could not control the subsequent course of events.
According to the regiment, Vitaliy Karat had mental and behavioral disorders due to opioid use, but was deemed fit for service according to the VLK certificate.
At the same time, the sister of the deceased, Olesya Piskunova, stated that her brother was beaten. She claims that when the police arrived, Vitaliy pointed to systematic beatings and also had numerous bodily injuries — bruises on his shoulders, under his eyes, and a damaged lung.
The ‘Skelya’ regiment emphasized that they are open to cooperating with the investigation and are interested in establishing all the circumstances of the tragedy. They also noted that each case of soldier death has individual causes and requires a separate investigation.