In Vinnytsia, military commissars are kidnapping men and confiscating their phones – Media reported

Residents of Vinnytsia have been reaching out to journalists, asking them to publicize cases where men were allegedly abducted by military recruiters, taken to Territorial Recruitment Centers, and then went missing for several days without any contact.

This was reported by the local outlet 20 Minutes.

According to the article, in the past two weeks alone, the newsroom received two reports of men being taken to recruitment centers and their phones being unreachable for several days. Both cases had one thing in common: the men had failed to update their personal information within the required timeframe.

The outlet contacted the Vinnytsia Territorial Recruitment Center to inquire about the procedures recruiters must follow during mobilization and asked for clarification regarding the confiscation of mobile phones.

“In accordance with the order of the commander of military unit A2393 dated September 30, 2023, personal mobile devices capable of recording photos, videos, or audio, determining geolocation, or connecting to the internet must be handed over for temporary storage in an off state at permanent deployment locations,” the recruitment center’s statement read.

This decision was justified as necessary to “preserve the life and health of personnel” and to prevent the leakage of military or restricted-access information.

At the same time, lawyer Yevhen Filipets told the media that no one has the right to confiscate a mobile phone during detention, as it is private property. He argued that this practice deprives those mobilized of their right to legal defense.

It is worth noting that just recently, military recruiters at an Odessa recruitment center reportedly detained municipal workers for three days after they had arrived to repair a boiler pipe.