The National Police refused to disclose if the statement filed by Babel journalists about the threats made by Skelia Regiment serviceman Mykola Kharkhan had been registered, citing personal data privacy, as per the police’s response to a query by Detector Media.
The media outlet reached out to the police on 14 July, asking whether the journalists’ statement had been entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URDR), and if it had, when and under what article the proceedings were classified. The team also asked what stage the investigation was at.
The National Police replied on 21 July, refusing to disclose the information. The police cited Part 2 of Article 14 of the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection”, which says that “disclosing information about an individual without the consent of the individual or a person authorised by them is only permitted in cases specified by law, and only (if necessary) in the interests of national security, economic well-being, and human rights”.
“In view of the above, and of the fact that you have not provided documents confirming that the persons mentioned in the query consent to information about them being disclosed, information on whether the National Police of Ukraine has received the complaint and the results of its processing can not be provided,” the police said in their response.
The National Police added that information on criminal offenses should be provided by the Prosecutor General’s Office, as per the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Personal Data Protection.
Previously
On 23 June 2026, Babel released an investigation into the non-combat deaths of at least 26 recruits in the Skelia Assault Regiment No. 425 that occurred in late 2025 — spring 2026. The journalists discovered that most of the servicemembers died of pneumonia, cardiovascular and other diseases shortly after being drafted. Families of some of the deceased reported possible violence in the unit.
The Skelia Regiment said that the authors of the news story were making generalisations, reducing the unit’s history to one-off tragic instances. They claim that most of the deaths mentioned in the investigation occurred in hospitals or on the way to them and were related to the recruits’ health.
On 25 June, Babel reported violent threats by Mykola Kharkhan (call sign “Kyianyn”), a serviceman in the Skelia Assault Regiment No. 425 after the release of their news story about a series of non-combat deaths in the regiment.
On 1 July, the Media Movement and the Ukrainian media community issued a joint statement demanding that law enforcement bodies investigate the threats to Babel journalists that were made after the release of the Skelia investigation.
On 7 July, Babel reported that the SBI had refused to register a statement by their journalists regarding threats by the Skelia Regiment serviceman Mykola Kharkhan (Kyianyn).
