Latest news with #militaryinvestigation
Arab News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Russian missile attack kills Ukrainian servicemen in training
KYIV: A Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military shooting range killed six servicemen and wounded at least 10 more during training on Tuesday, Ukraine's national guard said on Wednesday, adding that the commander of the unit had been suspended. Russia's defense ministry had said on Tuesday that the missile attack on the training camp in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border killed up to 70 Ukrainian service members, including 20 instructors. The Ukrainian national guard statement said an internal investigation was underway and the necessary information was shared with law enforcement agencies. 'The investigation will provide a legal assessment of the actions of all persons who made the relevant decisions,' it said about the attack on the military unit's shooting range. After previous deadly strikes on military training camps, Ukraine launched investigations into possible negligence. During more than three years of Russia's full-scale invasion, Moscow's forces have inflicted casualties in attacks on Ukrainian military educational institutions and various formal outdoor gatherings.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Navy commander steps down over claims of ‘unwanted' sexual behaviour
The commanding officer of a Royal Navy warship that tracks Russian submarines has stepped down after being accused of 'unacceptable sexual behaviour' with a subordinate. Lt-Cdr Martyn Mayger, who commanded HMS Tyne, is under investigation following claims of 'unwanted' behaviour. It comes just a week after Adml Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, stepped down following allegations of a relationship with a female colleague under his command. Lt-Cdr Mayger has stood down while the investigation takes place, The Times reported. He assumed command of HMS Tyne in February. Further details of the allegations, which are being investigated by the Defence Serious Crime Command, have not been disclosed. The warship is responsible for patrolling the coasts of Britain and northern Europe, monitoring Russian task groups in the English Channel and protecting critical infrastructure such as undersea cables. Last week it tracked a Russian submarine in the Channel as part of a Nato effort to monitor Moscow's activity in European waters. It shadowed Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar as it made its surfaced journey back to Russia from the eastern Mediterranean. HMS Tyne's executive officer has now been placed in temporary command. Sir Ben remains under investigation in connection with separate allegations made against him. The First Sea Lord, a married father-of-three, is alleged to have had a 'consensual' extramarital affair with a junior female colleague. As a serving member of the military he is facing accusations that he has breached the Navy's 'service test', which prohibits relationships between commanders and their subordinates. Sir Ben has been told to step back from all duties while the investigation is ongoing. Vice-Adml Sir Martin Connell, the Second Sea Lord, has taken temporary command in his place. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'We can confirm that a member of the Armed Forces is under investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command in respect of these allegations. 'As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further. 'We have a zero-tolerance approach to criminal and inappropriate behaviour. Our people can be assured that should they raise any allegation, they will be fully supported, and the matter investigated, with appropriate action taken as required.'
Times
14-05-2025
- Times
Royal Navy commander removed weeks into job over sexual allegations
The commanding officer of a Royal Navy warship used to protect British waters from Russian submarines is being investigated over allegations of 'unacceptable sexual behaviour' with a subordinate, The Times can Commander Martyn Mayger was in charge for a matter of weeks before he was removed from his post for the 'unwanted' behaviour, plunging the already beleaguered Royal Navy into a deeper is being investigated by the Defence Serious Crime Command after a complaint was raised and he has been removed in the past week, it is understood. The executive officer of HMS Tyne has assumed temporary command of the vessel while the investigation continues. The navy was rocked last week by the revelations that Admiral Sir Ben Key, the
ABC News
09-05-2025
- ABC News
Final day of inquiry into Taipan helicopter crash that killed four airmen hears from relatives
Emerging from the final day of an inquiry into a fatal army helicopter crash that took the lives of four men in 2023, their loved ones embrace each other, sobbing in each other's arms. After 15 months of investigation, 48 days of hearings, and evidence from dozens of witnesses, the probe is finally complete. For the families, it's daunting and bittersweet. It marks a loss of connection with those in which they are united in grief — the fellow family members of the fallen. As they took to the witness stand for the final time, they spoke of the enormous impact of their loss. "To say this process has been painful is an understatement. It has shaken us to our core," Captain Danniel Lyon's widow Caitland Lyon told the inquiry. "There have been days where I could barely breathe under the weight of it all. Days where I have collapsed, physically ill from the strain of what we have been uncovering. "But that pain was not caused by the inquiry, it was caused by the unimaginable grief of losing Dan, and the unbearable realisation that his death and the deaths of Max Nugent, Phil Laycock and Alex Naggs were preventable." It was sentiment echoed by nearly all of the loved ones who gave statements on the final day. Ms Lyon implored inquiry lead Margaret McMurdo not to find that the crash was simply a devastating accident and an acceptable risk that's part of the job in the army. "[Defence] can do better. We must. For Dann, for his crew, and for every family who sends a loved one into the sky trusting they will come home," she said. During the inquiry it was revealed that the Taipan fleet had been earmarked as having an elevated level of risk of a catastrophic event occurring for at least a decade before the fatal crash. The inquiry also heard the army's test organisation found the helmet mounted night vision devices — known as TopOwl 5.10 — posed an unacceptable risk to safety. One pilot recalled breaking ranks to raise the alarm because he feared someone would die if the devices were accepted into service. But after further army testing it was deemed a manageable risk. Fatigue has also been probed by the inquiry. A sleep expert said the four men were exhausted before the fatal flight and operating at fatigue levels equivalent to driving a car over the legal blood alcohol limit. The inquiry heard they were sleeping in hot tents next to a fire station and commercial airport during the exercise while trying to switch their body clocks to fly at night. Defence has since made changes around its approach to fatigue awareness and management. Behind it all, the inquiry has reminded the public of the people behind the tragedy — of those left behind, and plans never realised. Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent's partner Chadine Whyte told the inquiry they would never be able to realise their dreams of getting married, starting a family and living in the country. "We'd speak about this often and we thought we had it all planned out. Not as a distant dream but as something real, something close." "I can't express how broken I am that he will never be able to fulfil his dream of becoming the father and role model he was ready to be." Corporal Alexander Naggs' partner, Sarah Loft described him as "the kindest, most thoughtful, honourable and humble man. He is the best person I've ever known". "It's been 652 days, and I'm still unable to watch Friends or Modern Family, to move Alex's toothbrush from where he left it, or to accept that he's not coming home," she said. Caitland Lyon said her children were having to learn how to live without their father. "I'm still haunted by the sound of our five-year-old's scream the day that I told him daddy wasn't coming home," she said. "He still sleeps beside me every night curled around his father's pillow. Our daughter was 16-months old when her daddy became her guardian angel. "Every time I now hear my three-year-old cries for daddy to come back from heaven my heart shatters, knowing she has had more days crying for daddy than she ever had laughing with him." In a statement, Warrant Officer Laycock's parents Dianne and Wayne said the magnitude of their loss had been overwhelming. "The poet, Donna Ashworth, accurately sums up the situation in saying, 'You don't just lose someone once, you lose them over and over,'" they said. "Even the most menial task of making our bed every morning, takes us back to the day of stripping Phillip's bed in his apartment, knowing he would never sleep there again." His ex-wife told the inquiry he was "a real-life superhero" in the eyes of his three sons. Relatives told the inquiry they hoped change would come of the tragedy. "We cannot change what happened, but we can and must change what happens next. Please don't let the lives of Dann, Max, Phil and Alex be in vain," Ms Whyte said. Ms Lyon called for "A safer future. A better defence force, one that learns and grows and remembers those it has lost".
