Deputy head of Kharkiv patrol police failed to return from vacation abroad — while oblast police chief keeps his post despite scandals

The de facto directorate head failed to show up for duty

According to a document passed to our editorial office by an anonymous source, police lieutenant colonel Yaroslav Diiank (born 18.10.1995, a native of Konotop) holds the post of deputy head of the directorate — head of the monitoring and analytical support department of the Kharkiv oblast patrol police directorate of Ukraine's Patrol Police Department.

Formally, the directorate is headed by V. Levchenko, but he performs his duties only partially — he is away on military service in the combat zone. The de facto head of the directorate, per the source, is Diiank.

After a vacation spent abroad, Diiank failed to return to Ukraine and report for duty within the established timeframe — September 7 of this year. His mobile phone is switched off.

What the source claims — and what we cannot confirm

The source's material contains a number of claims that we present strictly as source claims — we have been unable to verify them independently, and the National Police and the SBU have issued no official comments:

• Diiank has no professional policing education and never served in law enforcement prior to his appointment.
• He was previously detained on robbery and theft charges. In November 2010, a criminal case was opened and later closed "on instructions from Kyiv." The source links this to Diiank's family connection with E. Zhukov, deputy director of Ukraine's Patrol Police Department, 3rd rank.
• Within his approved leave, Diiank traveled to Poland at the end of August, and subsequently left for Germany, where his parents live.
• At Diiank's registered address, notably through his maternal uncle, Pesotskyi, activity was documented indicating large-scale corrupt ties with the regional territorial recruitment center (TCC and SS).
• Per the source, Diiank's switched-off phone is no accident: an SBU intelligence operation into his alleged unlawful activity is possible, and the disappearance may be a "planned flight" rather than a genuine disappearance.

An appointment instead of an investigation

By order of Ukraine's Patrol Police Department dated 21.09.2026 № 19460/с, police major Yevhen Yakovenko — who held an analogous position in Poltava region — has already been appointed to the post of deputy head of the directorate — head of the monitoring and analytical support department of the Kharkiv oblast patrol police directorate.

This means Diiank's position has effectively been filled by another person, while Diiank himself faces no formal consequences. No official statement has been made about his status (disciplinary proceedings, wanted notice, dismissal).

Yevhen Yakovenko previously, in 2023–2024, served as acting head of the Poltava oblast patrol police directorate — this is confirmed by open publications.

Tokar's impunity — the central conflict

Petro Tokar has headed the National Police's Kharkiv oblast directorate since November 2024, succeeding Volodymyr Tymoshko. During this period he has twice become the subject of public compromising publications:

• In early 2026, the civil society organization "Anti-Corruption Front of Larysa Kryvoruchko" called Tokar a "guarantor" of corrupt schemes within the Kharkiv region police — from budget embezzlement to alleged protection of drug networks. This is a civil society claim, not a court verdict, and our editorial office does not confirm it.
• The source who passed us the document asserts that officers traveling abroad coordinate this directly with Tokar, and that Diiank's "flight" was cleared with Tokar personally — possibly to conceal his own corrupt connection. According to the source, it was Tokar himself who leaked word of the intelligence operation to Diiank and sent him on leave abroad.

We cannot confirm the source's assertions. But the observable pattern is exactly this: a subordinate vanishes, leadership stays silent, the position effectively moves to a neighboring region, and the key figure in the scandals keeps his post. Not a single career decision has followed from the scandalous publications against Tokar.

What is known — and what remains unknown

Established:

• Diiank is a lieutenant colonel, deputy head of the Kharkiv oblast patrol police directorate, head of the monitoring and analytical support department (per the source).
• He failed to report for duty on September 7; per the source, he has not returned to Ukraine.
• Order № 19460/с dated 21.09.2026 appointed major Yevhen Yakovenko to the analogous post (per the source).
• Tokar has headed the Kharkiv oblast National Police directorate since November 2024; anti-corruption investigations into him have been published.
• The formal head of the directorate is V. Levchenko (away on military service).

Unknown:

• Whether Diiank has returned to Ukraine; whether he is being sought.
• Whether an internal investigation has been opened.
• Whether the SBU is running an intelligence operation on Diiank.
• Whether the accusations against Tokar will be reviewed.