The hero of the war in Chechnya and Syria was removed from service in the Black Sea Fleet
The Sevastopol garrison military court removed from office the commander of the 388th naval reconnaissance point of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, lieutenant colonel, awarded two Orders of Courage, Sergei Podgursky, a participant in campaigns in Syria and the Chechen Republic.
Kommersant writes about this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Podgursky is charged with the fact that it was his fault that in October 2017, a landing craft stationed in the bay sank during a force three storm, causing damage in the amount of 56 million rubles. Allegedly, it was the commander who forbade his subordinates to relocate the ship.
A criminal case has been initiated against him under Part 2 of Art. 344 and paragraph “c”, part 3, art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The investigation accuses the lieutenant colonel of violating the statutory rules of internal service and exceeding official authority, which resulted in significant property damage.
Podgursky’s defense appealed the verdict in the North Caucasus District Military Court, arguing that the decision of the first instance would damage the combat capability of the unit headed by the lieutenant colonel.
“Sergei Podgursky does not deny his guilt, he only asks the investigation to consider his case objectively and reclassify the charge as negligence,” notes the defendant’s lawyer Oleg Glod.
He also emphasized that he does not rule out that another episode was recalled in the Podgursky case, when two contract soldiers from his unit stole a high-speed boat last year, lost control and crashed into the pier. As a result, one of the sergeants received a suspended sentence and the other a fine.
“For some reason the investigation decided that the unit commander was to blame for everything,” added Glod.
A hero of the wars in Chechnya and Syria has been suspended from service in the Black Sea Fleet.