Police, SBU identify 130 people potentially involved in clashes near National Guard facility in Kyiv Oblast

Ukrainian police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have identified 130 people who may have been involved in clashes near a National Police facility in Kyiv Oblast, the National Police said on Nov. 5.

The announcement follows the Nov. 2 incident, when a crowd gathered outside a National Guard facility in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka over unverified claims that men were being illegally detained and tortured there.

Of the 130 people identified, 27 allegedly "took an active part in unlawful actions," while another 24 "acted aggressively, incited others, and deliberately provoked confrontations" with police and National Guard personnel, according to the National Police.

The unrest damaged four police vehicles and a National Guard bus, the National Police said.

The agency added that the actions of all active participants would be subject to legal assessment as part of investigations by the National Police, the SBU, and the Prosecutor General's Office.

The clashes in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka were preceded by a series of social media posts alleging mistreatment of mobilized men and soldiers listed as absent without leave (AWOL).

At the epicenter of the clash were two workers of a supposed private ambulance, seemingly attempting to negotiate with the National Guard to enter the building, while also addressing the crowd.

The Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info reported that the claims about men being illegally detained were spread by a woman identified as Valentyna Moloda, who was at the scene and introduced herself as a paramedic and the owner of a private clinic called Med-Prestige.

The investigators found that the company had not been operating since 2023. Yet, the ambulance Moloda arrived in was branded with the Med-Prestige name and logo.

Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov said Moloda had been detained. She and two other participants in the incident, Tetiana Kiriieva and Viktor Yena, were remanded in custody without the right to bail.

The building where men were allegedly being illegally detained was used by the National Guard as a transit point for mobilized men. They were held there after being taken in by draft officers and before undergoing medical examinations and being sent to basic military training.

Men who had recently been mobilized were indeed staying in the building, along with at least two men listed as AWOL. However, reports that a person had been killed at the site or that anyone had sustained life-threatening injuries were not confirmed.

In a Nov. 3 statement, Budanov said the incident was "not without outside influence." At the same time, the official cautioned against dismissing it as merely an act of provocation, arguing that it had exposed deeper societal tensions and longstanding unresolved issues.

More than five years into Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has yet to carry out a comprehensive reform of its mobilization system. In particular, it has not introduced clear terms of military service or a rotation system that would allow soldiers to recover after deployments and eventually return to civilian life.

At the same time, Ukraine cannot slow the pace of mobilization while the all-out war continues. To maintain the current pace, Ukraine needs to mobilize at least 30,000 people a month, Budanov said in August.