Scandal around Aliyev: Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran reveals the truth about the ex-forward’s service
26 May 10:50
Former Dynamo Kyiv player Oleksandr Aliyev has found himself at the center of a scandal after making yet another statement about his “service” in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleh Symoroz, a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a combatant, publicly denied the information spread by Aliyev and stated that he had never participated in hostilities, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Aliyev has repeatedly claimed that he serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The last time he did this in an interview with Slava Demin, when he said that he was related to the 129th battalion of the 112th territorial defense brigade.
“From the first days I joined the 129th TRO battalion, 112th Brigade, I am still there, but I am just seconded to another unit. Now I have a little more free time than I have had since the beginning of the war. To be honest, I haven’t fired yet, I haven’t had a contact battle. But I am constantly on the front line. I appreciate my guys,” Aliyev said.
Simoroz, who lost his legs in the war against Russia, responded harshly to Aliyev’s statements about his service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, calling them a brazen lie.
“I am forced to react, as false information is now being massively spread by the scandalous former Dynamo Kyiv football player Oleksandr Aliyev, which can harm the reputation of my brigade,” Symoroz wrote on Facebook.
He said that Aliyev did not take part in hostilities, but received the status of “Participant in hostilities.
“In the first days of the full-scale invasion, Aliyev said that he had volunteered to join the territorial defense of Kyiv. He patrolled the streets of Obolon and did not take part in the fighting. But this did not prevent him from bypassing the brigade, directly through the command of the Territorial Defense Forces to obtain the status of a combatant… And now Aliyev has decided to go further, in an interview with Slava Demin he said that he serves in the 129th battalion of the 112th brigade and he is a soldier. I have to refute this blatant lie. Because I know this battalion of our brigade, they are heroic guys who made a name for themselves in battles, they have many dead, and I will not calmly watch this drunkard try to defame their name,” emphasized Symoroz.
He noted that Aliyev had never served as a soldier in the 129th Battalion of the 112th Brigade, nor in any other regular units of the brigade.
“He hung out in the DFTG No. 35, which is subordinated to our brigade, but the members of this formation do not have the official status of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, unlike our regular battalions, as soldiers of the 129th Battalion. I don’t think I need to explain how a combat brigade differs from a DFTG in 2025. The command of this DFTG allowed Aliyev to play football, visit the VIP box of the Dynamo stadium and drink in restaurants. In short, all the “hardships of hard army service” during martial law,” the volunteer emphasized.
He claims that “Aliyev also lied about how he ‘got shot at in Obolon’ and how he had to ‘go to liberate Kharkiv region’.
“By the way, all his photos from Donbas were taken as part of ‘volunteer trips’ where he had no military tasks. In April 2023, Aliyev ignored a summons from the Obolon Military Commissariat by anointing himself to the DFTH, and he was supposed to be officially mobilized to the regular army, but he used his connections and, of course, was not mobilized anywhere. And in April of this year, I think you saw how the patrol police put this “warrior” face down on the asphalt for resistance and signs of alcohol intoxication, by the way, Aliyev refused to take a test for intoxication,” noted Symoroz.
He also explained what motivated him to make a post about Aliyev.
“Well, I would not have written this post even if I hadn’t read the frank testimony about how he was “burning in a tank,” but… But when a friend believes in himself a little bit and says that he is “serving” somewhere, this is the limit, given that many sports journalists have used him as an example for others in their materials. First of all, it is disrespectful and humiliating to those guys from the terrorist defense who sit in the trenches for months and give their lives and health for people like this one. b…. In general, this is not the first time I have heard stories of “elites” hiding in the rear of the DFTG and trying to get deferments from the draft. I’ll tell Mr. Aliyev a secret: working in restaurants does not exempt from mobilization, that’s the injustice… Warm greetings to the TCC!” summarized Symoroz.
