Mobilized Ukrainians transported to training in buses with bars and armed guards

Mobilized Ukrainians are being taken to basic combined arms training (BCAT) in buses with metal bars on the windows, guarded by armed escorts carrying automatic weapons — to prevent escapes.

Footage of the transport was published by Ukrainian Armed Forces Captain Andriy Onistrat in a documentary project titled “BCAT Unvarnished.”

Onistrat is a former company commander of strike UAVs in the 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade. He filmed his project about the daily life and activities of people who ended up in the army using a hidden camera in the 225th Separate Assault Regiment. According to him, the hidden camera was necessary so that the reactions of people forcibly conscripted into the army — through “busing” — would be as natural as possible, rather than staged.

“The bus is, of course, set up so that it’s impossible to escape from it. Armed people are standing guard. And I understand that if they weren’t there, people would simply run out through the windows. So from the standpoint of maintaining such security rules, it’s important,” — Onistrat said.

The outlet previously reported that over the summer, employees of territorial recruitment centers (TRC) began transporting mobilized individuals in trucks with iron bodies and padlocks. In the spring, the ombudsman’s words were cited stating that Ukraine’s territorial recruitment centers had turned into places of detention for citizens.