The suicide of a cadet from the Odessa Academy: sergeants bullied the 17-year-old before the tragedy.

According to ТСН: A cadet of the Odessa Military Academy, who had not yet turned 18, was found hanged. According to other cadets, a day before the tragedy, the boy became a victim of bullying by the sergeants.

17-year-old first-year cadet Pavel Stovbун was found hanged on November 26 in Rivne region, where the academy's units were dispersed due to the threat of Russian missile attacks.

"Pavel's mother's birthday was on November 20. We called him. He was talking to us, laughing. He said he would come to his grandmother's in Kyiv for Christmas... He was an ordinary child. We couldn’t even think that something was going wrong," recalls Pavel's aunt and godmother Olga Melnik.

Bullying by seniors

According to SLON FM, the bullying began after three cadets, including Stovbун, stole some energy drinks from a store.

The location commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kosenko, introduced collective punishment, banning visits to the store, and the sergeants decided to punish the offenders themselves.

Witnesses claim that the boys were forced to eat in unsanitary conditions, wash it down with oil and salty water, and then vomit, after which they were even forced to eat their vomit.

As a result of what he endured, Pavel Stovbун voluntarily left the unit (SZCh), and the next day he was found dead in a building nearby the academy.

The father’s heart gave out

Pavel was supposed to turn 18 on January 8, 2026. According to information, his father died that day — after his son's burial, he suffered a stroke and could not recover.

What the academy responded

The Odessa Military Academy confirmed the death of Pavel Stovbун and called it a "tragic incident." A service investigation has been launched.

"Based on preliminary results, a series of personnel decisions are already ready. The preliminary qualification of law enforcement is suicide. However, the version of exceeding official powers is being verified. If confirmed, all guilty will be held accountable under the law," the academy assured.

In response to a request, it was stated that no official reports or complaints regarding psychological pressure or non-statutory relations were recorded from the deceased cadet Stovbун or from other cadets.

The guilty are still unpunished

The police noted that no one from the academy has yet been accused in the case of exceeding power or inciting suicide.

According to SLON FM, the sergeants suspected of the bullying received a winter vacation.

A relative of the deceased reported that Lieutenant Colonel Kosenko, who supposedly knew about the bullying, claims that he "hired a lawyer."

The media learned about the bullying of other cadets in this institution

Three cadets, who wished to remain anonymous, told journalists about another incident in the same place.

The group commander, a contractor, and two female cadets who were drinking alcohol were punished with physical exercises to the point of exhaustion. The boys were forced to eat onions like apples and wash them down with salty water while being made to clean up their own vomit.

Another cadet reported that Mykola Ilychak, against whom an investigation is ongoing, bullied the first-year students by shooting them with airsoft guns.

"Ilychak made a coffin for the cadet, placed him in it, closed the lid with screws, and simulated burying him," says one of the cadets.

Cadets are thinking about SZCh and even suicide

A combat officer and one of the administrators of the SLON FM Telegram channel reported that he received messages from several of Pavel's classmates.

The boys admitted that they do not want to continue their studies, think about SZCh, and even contemplate suicide.

"I came here to become a strong person, but I'm just degrading here. There is a seniority system, the leadership is entrenched, a cadet who was tortured by sergeants hanged himself, cases of SZCh," shares one of the cadets.

“Seniority” does not only exist in the Odessa academy: other loud cases

Another soldier, who wished to remain anonymous, witnessed a situation where a lieutenant colonel of the Kyiv National Guard Institute struck cadets in the face.

Later, a video appeared among cadets at the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service featuring a naked first-year student taking an oath. The academy stated that they were unaware of this.

On April 17, 2025, the body of a 20-year-old cadet with signs of gunshot wounds was found in Khmelnytskyi, and on April 19 in Bukovina — the body of a 19-year-old cadet with signs of gunshot wounds, likely from suicide.

In addition, in September 2025, a major from the Military Institute of Tank Troops humiliated a cadet who supported prisoners of war.

And in 2023, an 18-year-old second-year cadet at the Lviv DUVS Institute was found dead during a daily duty. Parents claim he complained about pressure from the commander during training.

The situation at the Odessa Military Academy has sparked widespread resonance in society, given the scale of issues related to psychological pressure and bullying in military educational institutions. The tragedy of Pavel Stovbун has become a symbol of deep problems that require urgent solutions to prevent similar cases in the future.

The state's reaction to these events is crucial, as such incidents not only harm individuals but also threaten the reputation of the entire military system.