Service members say they were beaten at deployment site in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Military Ombudsman’s Office says

Ukrainian soldiers report beatings at base near Kyiv

Several service members who were stationed at a temporary deployment site in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in the Kyiv region have reported being subjected to physical violence.

The Military Ombudsman’s Office told hromadske this in response to an inquiry, Censor.NET reports.

Review of the incidents

The Military Ombudsman’s Office has launched a review of the events of 2 November in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. As part of the review, its representatives interviewed several service members from the military unit.

According to the office, the interviews established that, during their time at the temporary deployment site, "they may have been subjected to acts of violence involving the infliction of bodily injuries".

Statements forwarded to investigators

The Military Ombudsman’s Office has forwarded the service members’ written statements to the State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General’s Office. The agencies have not yet said whether criminal proceedings have been opened.

Situation in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka

Earlier, reports had circulated online claiming that on 2 November, in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv, allegedly armed men were holding around 40 hostages in the basement of one of the houses, some of whom were in a serious condition, and were preventing medical staff from reaching them.
According to the Kyiv Regional Police, they were contacted by staff from a private ambulance service who had been prevented from reaching one person.
The police stated that reports claiming people were being unlawfully detained in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka and that one of them had died were untrue.
The Commander of the National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, confirmed that National Guard servicemen were in the house after leaving their unit without authorisation, and that four of them required medical attention and were taken to hospital.
Pivnenko also explained that the private house was being used as a temporary accommodation centre for National Guard personnel. Mobilised personnel arrived there, underwent registration and checks, after which they were sent to a training centre.
When asked about a man with a broken spine, National Guard press officer Ruslan Muzychuk replied that this was not true: all four had walked to the ambulance under their own steam.
The Office of the Military Ombudsman was present at the scene in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka alongside the command of the National Guard of Ukraine. An investigation has been ordered.
The National Guard will launch an internal investigation into this incident.
Tensions remained high well into the night. People threw stones at the building’s windows, set off smoke bombs and firecrackers, damaged the building’s brick wall, smashed the bus and attempted to overturn it.
The Head of the President’s Office, Kyrylo Budanov, arrived at the scene in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in the Kyiv region.
Footage circulated on social media showing a teenage boy being led out of the building, wrapped in a thermal blanket. Budanov spoke to him personally – the boy said he was 14 years old and had come to the scene with his friends. The Head of the Presidential Office rang the boy’s sister to ask her to collect him.
However, at around 10.30 pm, a group of people arrived at the scene and began pushing those present. A mass brawl broke out, and the sound of gunshots was heard, according to media reports. There were casualties among those present, and Budanov urged them to contact the police.
Budanov, who had visited the scene of the clashes the previous day, announced on 3 November that measures had been drawn up to ensure an appropriate response to the events in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka and to prevent further provocations.
On 3 November, the Security Service of Ukraine (
SSU)
stated that it had identified and established the identities of around 100 people who were present at the scene of the disturbances on 2 November in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in the Kyiv region and who had actively participated in organising them.
The SSU has opened criminal proceedings in three separate cases.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has opened a case concerning the abuse of authority or official powers by military personnel.
On 4 November, the court imposed a preventive measure on Valentyna Moloda, who was the first to arrive at the scene of the protests in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka dressed as a paramedic and who is suspected of obstructing the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Security Service detained and served notices of suspicion on three organisers of the riots.
The Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv remanded Tetiana Kireeva in custody without the right to bail. She is suspected of involvement in an attempt to remove her sister’s husband from the military deployment site in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka under the guise of an ‘emergency evacuation’ by ambulance.
On 5 November, the Solomianskyi District Court in Kyiv imposed a preventive measure on another individual implicated in the clashes in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Viktor Yena.