Police broke into the 43-year-old suspect’s apartment in Chernigov after he resisted an ID check
Ukrainian police have arrested a potential draftee in Chernigov, the northern part of the country, after he attacked a recruitment officer with pepper spray to avoid an ID check, officials have said. The incident comes amid Kiev’s struggling mobilization campaign, which has been marred by widespread violence between reluctant recruits and recruitment officers.
In a statement on Monday, local police said they had apprehended a man last week on suspicion of assaulting and threatening a serviceman from the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, a body tasked with carrying out Kiev’s draft campaign.
According to officials, the 43-year-old “refused to show identification during a routine check, acted aggressively and sprayed the recruiter in the face with pepper spray before fleeing the scene.” The man later barricaded himself in his apartment.
Police dispatched a patrol and a canine unit to raid the suspect’s home, where they recovered a telescoping baton – which the suspect allegedly used to threaten a recruitment officer – nearly 1kg of cannabis, and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition of various calibers.
The authorities released footage of the raid showing four heavily equipped agents smashing through a flimsy door before using an angle grinder to cut through another, sturdier door into the suspect’s apartment. The man was quickly apprehended and handcuffed, with police showing the camera a large amount of ammunition and drugs.
The suspect has been charged with intentionally causing bodily harm to a public official, illegal possession of narcotics, and illegal handling of weapons and ammunition. The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Ukraine announced general mobilization after the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, barring most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. The campaign has struggled due to widespread draft-dodging and bribery. Faced with manpower shortages, Kiev last year lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and tightened mobilization rules.
In recent months, Ukrainian recruiters have begun to raid public places to hunt for potential conscripts, with social media flooded with videos of violent confrontations between draft officers and would-be conscripts.
