Key facts
- National police chief said a criminal case was opened on charges of mass riots and impeding the work of the military.
- Interior minister said at the same briefing that allegations of torture at the military dormitory were fake, Interfax reported.
- Deputy head of the domestic security service said the incident was engineered to free one of the men and spark a public outcry, per Interfax Ukraine.
- Zelenskiy adviser Kyrylo Budanov said a woman dressed as an emergency medic, described as the chief instigator, was detained.
- Military ombudsman Olha Reshetylova said those attacked included battle-hardened veterans and former prisoners of war.
- Ukrainian media aired video showing a crowd including hooded men swarm the building with gunfire heard; it was not clear who fired.
Ukraine is investigating clashes that erupted late on November 2 between protesters and authorities at a military dormitory near Kyiv, officials said on November 3, saying they believed the incident had been engineered to discredit Ukraine's war effort.
Officials said a crowd of around 100 people gathered at a National Guard base housing nearly two dozen new draftees and soldiers brought back from unauthorized leave, following social media reports of alleged torture and violence against recruits there. Some members of the crowd attacked service personnel and police who had arrived at the scene, authorities said, prompting the National Guard commander and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff to visit the site.
State investigators and the military ombudsman's office said they were trying to determine the circumstances of how the 22 men, four of whom required medical attention, had been drafted or detained after taking the unauthorized leave. Ukraine's national police chief said at a briefing that investigators had opened a criminal case on charges of mass riots and impeding the work of the military. At the same briefing, Ukraine's interior minister said the allegations of torture at the military dormitory were fake, Interfax reported.
Later on November 3, the deputy head of Ukraine's domestic security service said the incident had been engineered to free one of the men and spark a public outcry, Interfax Ukraine reported. Speaking on Ukrainian television, Zelenskiy adviser Kyrylo Budanov said the chief instigator, a woman dressed as an emergency medic, had been detained and had previously scouted the location. Budanov said that while the clashes seemed like a deliberate provocation, they had also revealed problems that needed to be addressed. "Yes, on the one hand there are provocateurs, but on the other hand there is tension in society," he said, without providing further details.
Ukrainian media aired video showing a crowd that included hooded men swarm the building with the crackle of gunfire and chants of "Shame!" It was not clear who fired the shots. Some protesters also rocked a National Guard bus and smashed its windows.
Military ombudsman Olha Reshetylova said those who had come under attack included battle-hardened veterans and former prisoners of war. "Whether we will be able to restore trust between the military and society, which has once again been undermined by yesterday's events, is an open question," she wrote on Facebook.
Ukraine's draft has been marred by reports of abuse and corruption, frequently amplified by Russian social media and state outlets, and conscription officers and centers have also been attacked. The flare-up underscores how the call-up, which is critical to Ukraine's defense against Russia's much bigger army, remains a lightning rod for criticism.