A video appeared online showing two soldiers kidnapping a cat on the street near Kyiv

An incident involving the “mobilization” of a cat has gained wide publicity in Ukrainian social networks.

The corresponding video from a street surveillance camera was published by Telegram channels in the Kyiv region.

The footage shows two men in camouflage uniforms (public pages wrote they were employees of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, TCC) catching a cat in a private sector and driving away with it in a car.

It is noticeable that the animal is an adult and looks more like a domestic pedigree cat. What happened doesn’t look like someone returning a lost pet from the street either – the driver of the car appeared eager to leave the place of capture as quickly as possible.

After the incident gained wide attention, the Kyiv Regional TCC published a denial of the agency’s involvement in the abduction of the animal.

The Army Recruitment Center wrote about the impact of enemy propaganda on Ukrainians’ attitudes toward TCC employees.

“The fact that everyone immediately accused the TCC of stealing the cat indicates a serious worldview flaw in our society. This means that enemy propaganda has achieved its main goal – to desecrate the very heart of our resistance to the Russians, to desecrate those who recruit our army and ensure the containment of the occupation offensive. And this is the worst thing that could possibly happen!” – the statement on the agency’s Facebook page said.

The TCC denies that its employees stole the cat and states that the military commissars do not even wear uniforms like those shown in the video – they are not authorized to by regulations.

“What has happened to us, Ukrainians? Who and when misled us? Who divided us and made us hate those who form our army, who begin resistance and fight the enemy?” – the regional TCC asks, and immediately answers: “The enemy. Hostility toward the TCC is solely a hostile narrative.”

Meanwhile, another version of the incident is circulating in Kyiv-region Telegram channels: the cat allegedly stolen by TCC employees was meant for the son of a military commissar.

“The child wanted a cat. A comrade-in-arms came to his father, and both of them, tipsy and in uniform, supposedly went to a shelter to get a kitten, but along the way decided to take the cat shown in the video. It has already been found out who did it. They said they would return the cat if the video was deleted from the group chat. But, as I understand it, it’s too late – now the whole village is in scandal!” – wrote one user.