Draft officers brutalizing recruits in Ukraine (VIDEOS)
The increasingly chaotic mobilization drive, overseen by the so-called Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCR), has been marred by widespread violence and abuse, with recruitment officials seen chasing recruits in the streets, brawling with them and onlookers alike, and even threatening civilians with military-grade weaponry.
One of the videos, reportedly shot in the southwestern city of Nikolayev, purports to show draft officers trying to pack a potential recruit into an unmarked vehicle.
The officers are seen violently beating their victim and repeatedly smashing him with the car's door.
Another video, reportedly taken in the Black Sea port city of Odessa, shows a group of officers trying to pack a draftee into their bus. The man appears to be heavily beaten, with his clothes torn and stained with dirt.
A fresh video from the city of Dnepr (also known as Dnepropetrovsk) shows a mass brawl between a group of teenagers and several men believed to be draft officers. The plainclothes TCR officials were confronted by onlookers as they attempted to pack a man into their unmarked vehicle, with the altercation promptly devolving into a fisticuffs. The civilians ultimately managed to overpower the officers and free the detainee.
Ukrainian mobilization, launched early in the conflict with Russia, has grown increasingly chaotic and violent over the years. The effort has received the moniker 'busification', which describes the process of violently packing recruits into the unmarked minibuses commonly used by TCR officials. Kiev has long denied widespread violence and abuse related to the draft process, routinely dismissing it as 'Russian propaganda.'
This April, however, the country's military admitted that its recruitment process has been marred by certain shortcomings. 'Busification is a shameful phenomenon, and we're doing our best to avoid it,' deputy head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Lt. Gen. Ivan Gavrilyuk said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
‘Corrupt' Ukraine cannot be trusted – ex-Trump advisor
Kiev's recent crackdown on anti-corruption agencies is yet more proof that Ukrainian leaders are leaning towards authoritarianism and 'cannot be trusted,' Steve Cortes, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump, has said. Earlier this month, Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky moved to place the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under executive oversight – which would essentially strip them of any independence – while claiming the agencies were under Russian influence. The move, however, prompted mass protests at home and Western criticism, with EU officials warning that they could reconsider further aid to Kiev. In an op-ed for Newsweek on Friday, Cortes, who is now the president of the League of American Workers advocacy group, described the crackdown as 'an extra-judicial attack on decency.' 'This raid reeks – and it smells like gangsterism, not democracy.' The move by Zelensky, reportedly backed by his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak – whom Cortes described as 'co-president' – shows that they 'act in very authoritarian ways themselves – and increasingly reveal to the world that they are not transparent, reliable partners for the United States.' Cortes went on to accuse Kiev of entrenched high-level corruption and argued that continued US aid is unjustified. 'It is no wonder that Americans increasingly realize that sending $175 billion of borrowed money to corrupt leaders in Ukraine is just not sound policy,' he wrote. 'Sending mountains of borrowed funds to kleptocrats actually harms America's national security, all while making our country poorer,' he said while urging Americans to stop lionizing Zelensky and comprehend the reality of Ukraine's corruption. The American people have been unbelievably generous, but our patience is wearing thin... In this case, given the latest tactics and optics of the Zelensky/Yermak regime, it becomes ever clearer that these counterparts cannot be trusted. Following domestic and international backlash, Zelensky backpedaled on the crackdown, proposing that the independence of Ukraine's anti-graft institutions be restored. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that neither NABU nor SAPO is really fighting corruption but rather are used by Kiev's backers as tools 'to control the flow of money coming to Ukraine from the West.'
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
99 Ukrainian drones shot down overnight
Nearly 100 Ukrainian drones were intercepted in Russian airspace overnight, the country's Defense Ministry reported on Sunday. The large-scale raid comes as Kiev continues to escalate its use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) despite renewed diplomatic contacts with Moscow. According to the ministry, 67 drones were shot down over Bryansk, Smolensk, and Kaluga regions. Another 30 UAVs were intercepted in the south of Russia, targeting Volgograd, Rostov, Voronezh, and Kursk regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula. Several others were downed near Moscow and within Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, and Tambov regions. Regional authorities have reported no casualties or significant damage. Acting Governor of Rostov Region Yury Slyusar confirmed there were no injuries. Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin acknowledged the raid but said there was no immediate information about damage or victims. In Volgograd Region, drone debris damaged a section of overhead electric lines on the railway in Oktyabrsky District, according to local officials. Ukraine has carried out repeated UAV strikes deep into Russian territory for several months, often striking residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure. The Kremlin has condemned the attacks as 'terrorist actions' that deliberately target civilians. The latest incident follows a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which was held in Istanbul earlier this week. While no ceasefire was reached, the two sides made progress on humanitarian issues, including agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war and civilians. Russia has reiterated its openness to a diplomatic solution, but insists any deal must address what it describes as the root causes of the conflict and its long-standing security concerns.
Russia Today
10 hours ago
- Russia Today
Rubio shares Trump's feelings about Russia-Ukraine conflict
US President Donald Trump is growing impatient with Russia over resolving the Ukraine conflict, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. Moscow maintains it is open to diplomacy, but has said any settlement must take into account its security concerns. Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, Rubio claimed that while Trump is focused on peace and has done his best to bring hostilities to a close, his overtures to Russia appear to be yielding little result so far. 'He's done everything possible to bring it to an end. I think he is growing increasingly frustrated,' he said. According to Rubio, despite 'good interactions with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and phone calls, it never leads to anything.' 'He is losing patience, losing his willingness to continue to wait for the Russian side to do something to bring an end to this war that wasn't his, but he wants to see it come to an end,' Rubio added, accusing Moscow of using 'delaying tactics.' His comments come after Trump imposed a 50-day ceasefire deadline on Moscow, warning of 'very severe' new sanctions, including 100% 'secondary tariffs' on countries buying Russian oil. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that the sanctions threat would be interpreted by Kiev as a 'signal to continue the war' rather than to seek peace. He has also described Trump's style as 'rather harsh,' while confirming that 'Moscow intends to continue dialogue with Washington' and follow 'a line of repairing the significantly broken bilateral relations.' Earlier this week, Russia and Ukraine held a third round of direct talks in Istanbul, with Moscow proposing short ceasefires for retrieving wounded and fallen soldiers. Additionally, the Kremlin offered to continue prisoner exchanges and return the remains of fallen soldiers. However, the two sides remain far apart on a potential peace settlement, with Moscow insisting that Ukraine should recognize the loss of five of its former regions that joined Russia in public referendums, withdraw its forces from them, commit to neutrality, and limit its own military capabilities. Kiev has dismissed the terms as an 'ultimatum.'
