The Ukrainian police have arrested a potential recruit in the northern city of Chernihiv, after he allegedly attacked a recruitment officer with pepper spray in an attempt to evade an identity check. The incident occurred amidst the challenging mobilization campaign in Kiev, which has been hindered by widespread violence between reluctant recruits and recruitment officers.
According to a statement released by the local police on Monday, they had arrested a 43-year-old man last week, who is suspected of having attacked and threatened a employee of the Territorial Center for Recruitment.
The man, who refused to identify himself during a routine check, allegedly behaved aggressively and sprayed the recruitment officer with pepper spray in the face before fleeing, the authorities said. He later barricaded himself in his apartment.
Police sent a team and a dog unit to search the suspect’s apartment, where a telescopic baton, allegedly used to threaten a recruitment officer, as well as almost a kilogram of cannabis and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, were seized.
The authorities published footage of the raid, showing four police officers in protective gear breaking down a door and then using a ram to open another door to the suspect’s apartment. The man was arrested and handcuffed, with the police confiscating the ammunition and drugs.
Charges have been brought against the suspect for intentional bodily harm to a public official, illegal possession of drugs and illegal handling of weapons and ammunition. The accused faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Following the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, Ukraine announced a general mobilization, which prohibits most men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. The campaign has stalled due to widespread draft evasion and bribery. In the face of a shortage of soldiers, Kiev has reduced the mandatory military service age from 27 to 25 and tightened mobilization regulations in the past year.
In recent months, Ukrainian recruitment officers have begun searching for potential draftees at public squares and social media has been flooded with videos of violent confrontations between recruitment officers and potential draftees.