An unusual case has become the subject of a criminal investigation in Ukraine: an Air Force officer is suspected of telling military authorities she was in hospital while taking part in the filming of the cooking show MasterChef.
The officer is Viktoria Kuznetsova, a senior lieutenant in the Ukrainian Air Force. The State Bureau of Investigation has formally opened a criminal investigation into her. Authorities suspect she received about 250,000 hryvnias in salary and additional payments over several months when she was neither on duty nor at the military hospital where, according to official documents, she was being treated.
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Kuznetsova, a member of the 15th Transport Aviation Squadron, is listed in official records as a patient at a military hospital in Dnipro from April to August 2025. Investigators allege that instead of staying there, she traveled to various Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, as well as the Odesa region.
According to the case file, from April 22 to August 11, 2025, while military records continued to show her as hospitalized, the officer was involved in television activities. She is suspected of taking part in filming the 16th season of MasterChef Ukraine in Kyiv.
Her military unit continued to pay her salary and benefits during this period. Investigators estimate the loss to the Ukrainian state at nearly 250,000 hryvnias.
The case first came to public attention in March 2026, when it emerged that Kuznetsova, introduced on the show as a former servicewoman, was still serving in the Ukrainian Air Force.
The command of the 15th Transport Aviation Squadron said suspicions arose after the first promotional videos for MasterChef were released. Once she was identified, the command ordered an internal investigation. Its findings indicated that Kuznetsova had taken part in filming without informing her superiors or obtaining their approval under the established procedures.
The findings were sent to the State Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the matter as a criminal case. MasterChef Ukraine began airing on Ukrainian television channel STB in August 2025.
Investigators are also examining whether staff at the military hospital may have been involved. They are checking whether employees knew Kuznetsova was absent for extended periods and whether they helped issue documents certifying her hospitalization. So far, no criminal proceedings have been announced against any member of the medical or administrative staff.
Under Ukraine’s Criminal Code, Kuznetsova is suspected of evading military service through deception during wartime, as well as fraud that caused significant financial losses. If the charges are proven in court, she faces up to 10 years in prison.
When the case first appeared in the media in March, the officer wrote on Instagram that she had not been convicted and was not wanted by the authorities. Her post preceded the official announcement that a criminal investigation had been opened.
The preliminary investigation is ongoing, and no court has found Kuznetsova guilty.
The case has drawn particular attention as Ukraine is at war with Russia and has a continuing need for military personnel. For the authorities, the issue is not her participation in a television competition, but the suspicions that she evaded her military obligations, received payments unlawfully and may have been helped to conceal her absence.
