Ukraine’s ombudsman confirms: TCC officers handcuffed a man to a car and beat him in Khmelnytskyi region

Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets has reported an incident in the village of Lekhnivka, Khmelnytskyi region, where officers of the territorial recruitment center handcuffed a 61-year-old man to a vehicle, used physical force against him, and sprayed him with a gas canister during mobilization activities.

“Information is circulating on social media and in local outlets that a 61-year-old man was allegedly handcuffed to a vehicle, subjected to physical force, and sprayed with a gas canister during mobilization-related activities,” — Lubinets wrote in his Telegram channel.

According to the ombudsman, the information was confirmed by his regional representative, who personally contacted the victim. The man sought medical assistance on his own — bodily injuries were recorded.

Ukraine has been under general mobilization since February 2022, which has been extended multiple times. On May 18, 2024, a law tightening mobilization came into force, stripping certain categories of draft-eligible men of the right to exemptions and deferments. The authorities are taking measures to prevent men of conscription age from evading service.

Videos of forcible mobilization and confrontations between citizens and military recruitment officers in various cities regularly appear on Ukrainian social media. The term “busification” has taken hold in public discourse — it refers to the actions of TCC officers who push people into minibuses and drive them away to unknown destinations. The TCC officers themselves are frequently called “manhunters.”

Commanders of Ukrainian Armed Forces units, for their part, complain about the low motivation and poor training of 90% of the personnel entering the army through such “mobilization activities.”