Protesters demand release of draftees in Vinnytsia, break into detention facility
Protesters gathered in the city of Vinnytsia late on Aug. 1 to demand the release of men detained by military enlistment offices and broke into a stadium where the detainees were being held.
As Ukraine steps up its mobilization efforts, draft offices are often accused, at times justly, of forced conscription without compliance with fundamental civil rights and ill-treatment of conscripts.
The online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported that hundreds of protesters joined the rally, while police put the number at 80. The police arrested some of the demonstrators.
Tensions escalated when demonstrators forced open the gates of the stadium. Witnesses told the public broadcaster Suspilne that the police responded by using tear gas to disperse the crowd and prevent a breach of the facility.
The protest continued despite the start of the curfew.
The police said on Aug. 2 it had launched an investigation into the protests. Five men aged between 21 and 33 have been charged with seizing a state building, the police said.
The police said that one of the men whose release the protesters were demanding had been detained earlier that day. According to the police, he was wanted for evading military service.
Meanwhile, the Vinnytsia military enlistment office reported that a group of conscripted men had been brought to the stadium for medical examinations.
Reports on mobilization in Ukraine are often used by Russian propaganda to help escalate social tensions in Ukraine and further damage Ukraine's recruitment efforts.
In June and July, Russian forces launched several strikes on enlistment offices in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Poltava, Kremenchuk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, damaging infrastructure and causing civilian and military casualties.
These recent attacks are viewed as an escalation in tactics, aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and fueling social unrest.
