Protesters storm Kyiv site holding soldiers over torture allegations

In the suburb of Petropavlovskaya Borshchagovka near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, protesters attempted to storm a building where mobilized conscripts and suspected deserters were allegedly being held.

The incident escalated into scuffles following allegations that soldiers were subjected to torture and denied medical assistance.

Following the developments, senior officials, including Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, went to the scene.

Footage circulated on social media and featured in Ukrainian media showed demonstrators forcing the doors of a detached house, brawling with unidentified individuals, and wounded soldiers being brought out of the premises after paramedics gained entry.

The unrest erupted when allegations spread that armed individuals were detaining around 40 people in the building basement, beating them, and barring them from contacting their families.

Initial reports claimed that at least one person had died inside, but police later denied any fatalities.

Dozens of people, including relatives of those detained, gathered outside the premises, alleging that bribes were being demanded in exchange for visitation rights.

The arrival of a private ambulance for medical intervention escalated tensions when medical personnel were initially barred from entering; police also acknowledged that the personnel were not admitted at first.

According to eyewitnesses, individuals inside sprayed gas at the crowd when demonstrators forced the doors. A female paramedic who entered alongside a police officer stated that between 25 and 30 people were inside and that four soldiers in serious condition required hospital treatment.

The four individuals, displaying bruises and wounds on their bodies, were taken for medical treatment. While one of the wounded was reported to have a severe spinal condition, the cause and extent of the injuries remained unclear.

According to on-site videos, a 14-year-old child was also allegedly among those removed from the building, though the child condition and whether they were in detention could not be confirmed.

“We do not torture, we build units”

Kyiv regional police stated that allegations of illegal detention and fatalities did not reflect the truth, urging the public to follow official statements.

Addressing the crowd, Ukrainian National Guard Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko, who arrived at the scene, argued that the facility was a temporary accommodation and reception point for mobilized personnel awaiting transfer to training centres.

Speaking to the UNIAN news agency, Pivnenko said, “We do not torture, we build units.”

Pivnenko noted that the four individuals transferred to hospital had been captured after deserting their units.

The neo-Nazi Azov Battalion within the National Guard confirmed that the facility belonged to one of its units.

Acknowledging that four soldiers had been injured, Azov officials rejected claims of systematic mistreatment and announced that necessary action would be taken should unlawful violence be detected.

Existence of similar facilities acknowledged

Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy’s Head of Office and former Military Intelligence Chief, also arrived in the area and conducted inspections.

Noting that some relatives of patients were permitted inside to meet with detainees, Budanov announced that inspectors were examining the conditions.

Budanov acknowledged that “many similar facilities” exist in Ukraine, stating that an investigation into their operations would be launched.

Tensions persisted despite Budanov’s intervention. Clashes broke out when unidentified individuals in plain clothes attacked demonstrators.

A UNIAN correspondent was reportedly kicked in the stomach, and footage captured an individual with a head injury approaching Budanov, who told the injured man to report to the police. Gunfire was allegedly heard around the premises during the confrontations.

Correspondents from Hromadske reported that fights broke out around a bus brought in to evacuate soldiers.

Scuffles intensified again as authorities sought to transport the remaining soldiers. Budanov stated that 14 soldiers needed transfer to hospital, accusing demonstrators of obstructing the bus and attempting to overturn it.

Describing the demonstration as an illegal street action, Budanov called on the crowd to disperse.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that a formal investigation into the incident had been launched, with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Military Ombudsman’s Office involved in the process.

Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova announced that they were conducting a joint inquiry with the National Guard Command and that the soldiers were receiving medical care.

International human rights organizations have documented secret detention centres in Ukraine since the 2014 Maidan events and the outbreak of conflict in Donbass.

A 2016 joint report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch highlighted cases of extrajudicial detention and torture in secret facilities run by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and nationalist volunteer battalions. Authorities had denied the existence of unauthorized centres.

The latest developments took place amid intensifying debates over compulsory conscription practices and front-line desertion.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Fedienko estimated in October that, while the exact figure of soldiers abandoning their units was unknown, it could reach up to 500,000.