Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense tightens rules on bodycam use in TCCs

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has promised to introduce new requirements for the use of body cameras by employees of territorial recruitment centers.

This was reported by Verkhovna Rada member from the European Solidarity party Oleksiy Honcharenko, citing an official response from the Ministry of Defense.

Honcharenko received this response in his capacity as head of the Verkhovna Rada’s temporary investigative commission on possible violations of Ukrainian legislation in the field of defense, anti-corruption law, and the observance of human rights and freedoms during martial law.

Under the new rules, TCCs will be required to store photo and video materials from body cameras for 90 calendar days. In addition, employees will be prohibited from turning off cameras during mobilization activities — both inside TCC premises and assembly points, and on the surrounding territory.

The need to tighten the rules stems from systematic violations recorded during inspections. Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets had previously drawn attention to the fact that inspections frequently revealed that TCC employees either lacked cameras or had non-functioning ones. Employees were fined for such violations.