A lawyer refused to represent a military recruiter who assaulted a person and works at the recruitment center for money and exemption benefits

Kyiv lawyer Serhii Kostyra refused to represent an employee of a territorial recruitment center who had assaulted an individual.

The lawyer shared the incident on his Facebook page.

Kostyra explained that the potential client initially introduced himself as a military serviceman, and the lawyer was inclined to help him. However, during their conversation, Kostyra discovered that the man was a recruitment officer.

“I asked the recruitment officer if he felt any shame for assaulting someone and causing bodily harm. He told a story about an ‘insolent man’ who, as he put it, ‘provoked a conflict right on camera.’ Later, the man’s lawyer submitted the footage to the police. Despite having what he claimed was a friendly agreement with the police, the case was taken over by military prosecutors, and now he faces imprisonment. I then asked him why he wasn’t on the front lines. His response was the typical excuse: ‘I’m scared; I could be killed,’” Kostyra recounted.

It also became apparent that the recruitment officer was not struggling financially.

“I was curious about how financially capable this person was, so I named a fee ten times higher than my usual rate. He responded that it was very expensive but agreed,” Kostyra said.

The officer candidly admitted that he joined the recruitment center because it provided exemptions from military service and was a lucrative position.

In the end, Kostyra refused to represent him, stating that the officer had “betrayed his oath.” The lawyer declared that he would never defend recruitment officers who harm people.