Violent clashes between more than 200 protesters and Ukrainian police and military personnel at an army holding centre on the outskirts of Kyiv could have been the work of Russian disinformation agents.
On 2 November, a crowd gathered outside the building in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in response to reports on social media and local Telegram channels that Ukrainian soldiers inside “were being illegally detained and tortured”, said UA.News.
Russian provocation
The angry mob clashed with police after attempting to storm the building, later identified by officials as a “temporary deployment site” for draftees and former deserters run by the “Azov” Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard.
Protesters – including relatives of the detained men – attempted to climb into the compound, threw stones and firecrackers over the walls, and smashed up military and police vehicles. “In response, foam and tear gas were fired from inside the compound; later, gunshots rang out and smoke grenades exploded.”
The National Police of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine have identified 130 people who may have been involved in the unrest, which they believe to have been fuelled by Russian disinformation. Among them is 49-year-old Valentyna Moloda, identified by investigative journalism news site Slidstvo.Info as responsible for initially spreading rumours of a “torture basement” at the site. Moloda arrived at the protest in a private ambulance, claiming to be a doctor tasked with evacuating injured draftees held within. She has since been arrested.
However, the head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, has cautioned against dismissing the incident as merely an act of Russian provocation, arguing that it had exposed deeper societal tensions over conscription.
‘Not enough people’
“Forced mobilisation – a reality of Ukrainian life under martial law – remains one of the greatest sources of social and political tension in Ukraine, frequently leading to violent clashes between recruiters and civilians,” said Kyiv Independent.
In August, a draft officer in Lviv in western Ukraine was stabbed to death, and the following month a recruitment centre in the city was damaged by an explosive. In October, a man suspected of draft evasion opened fire at a recruitment centre in Kyiv, injuring three police officers and three military personnel.
Budanov has warned Ukraine needs to mobilise at least 30,000 new recruits each month just to maintain the current defence against Russia.
“Reforms to mobilisation, training and the way the army is organised” are among the “most sensitive issues under consideration” by the Ukrainian defence ministry, said The Associated Press.
New military contracts designed to reduce desertion and draft-dodging seek to make infantry roles more attractive by offering higher salaries and fixed terms of service for those willing to serve on the front lines.
But the problem ultimately remains a simple one, an official from the ministry said: “There just are not enough people.”
Protests linked to pro-Russian agitators tapped into increasingly violent tensions around forced mobilisation
