Ukrainian authorities have opened several criminal investigations after a crowd clashed with security forces outside a National Guard facility near Kyiv on Monday, following allegations that mobilized men held there had been beaten.
The confrontation took place outside a private house in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, a village on the western outskirts of the capital. According to the Kyiv Post, a crowd began gathering on Monday evening after claims spread online that armed men were holding about 40 people in a basement and blocking medics from reaching them. About 100 people assembled outside the building, some of whom said they were relatives of the men inside and alleged that the men had been beaten, denied medical care, and asked to pay money for visits, NV reported.
National Guard Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko said the house served as a temporary accommodation and processing point where mobilized recruits completed registration and checks before being sent to a training center. He said four men taken to a National Guard medical center had been detained after going absent without leave from their unit.
The Azov Corps of the National Guard, which oversees the unit stationed at the site, confirmed that all four men had sustained injuries and said those responsible would be punished if the unlawful use of force was proven. The National Guard announced an internal investigation, and the State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal case. Military Ombudswoman Olha Reshetylova said her office was working at the scene.
Several of the most widely shared claims about the incident have been disputed by officials. Kyiv regional police said reports that people were being unlawfully detained and that one person had died were false. Ukrainian news agency UNN reported that 25 people were found inside the building, while Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office, told Channel 24 that 14 people were inside.
Budanov arrived at the scene on Monday night and was filmed speaking with a 14-year-old boy found at the house. According to Ukrainian media, the boy said he had come with friends. Budanov said he would personally look into claims that the boy had been beaten and arranged for relatives to collect him. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhovskyi said on Tuesday that the boy had climbed over the fence and fallen, and that he had since been released.
On Tuesday, the SBU Security Service said it had opened three criminal cases into the unrest, identified about 100 active participants, and was considering detentions, NV reported. Budanov said the events "did not occur without outside influence," and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha linked the unrest to Russian strategy.
The incident quickly spread across pro-Russian social media accounts, many of which described the house as a "torture chamber" holding more than 40 men and claimed that riots had broken out against the Ukrainian government and NATO. Ukrainian reporting from the scene does not support those claims.
The case comes amid growing public friction in Ukraine over mobilization practices, as Kyiv continues to struggle with manpower shortages more than four years into the war with Russia.
