Filthy holes and blood: footage emerges from a ‘hellish’ recruitment center in the heart of Ukraine

Social media users are reposting photographs of a distribution center in Kyiv’s Darnytsia Railcar Repair Plant (DVRZ) district, from where mobilized men are sent to military units.

From the published photos, it is clear in what horrific conditions the men are being kept: the rooms are filthy, mattresses and pillows are stained with blood, the bathrooms are completely unsanitary, and the food rations are extremely poor and unappetizing, consisting of stale bread and some kind of indeterminate gruel.

At this center, the mobilized may wait for weeks before being assigned to military units, without any contact with their families. According to users, among those held there are people unfit for service, while healthy men are often sent to the army almost immediately after a brief interview.

After the photos spread online, the Kyiv Regional Military Recruitment and Social Support Center (TCC and SP)responded, calling the images disinformation. Moreover, as usual, the TCC shifted the blame for the problem onto civilians.

“The materials show photos allegedly depicting the city of Kyiv’s assembly point, but there is no confirmation that it is actually that facility. We also advise citizens to act responsibly and clean up after themselves in shared spaces instead of taking photos and presenting them as an assembly point, thereby discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” — said the TCC press service on Facebook.

The center insists that “cleanliness and proper order are maintained at the assembly point,” though the conditions are “indeed not of luxury hotel class.”

At the same time, the TCC did not show what the DVRZ assembly point actually looks like.