Crowd gathers outside house near Kyiv where mobilized troops and AWOL soldiers were being held. Clashes erupt, shots are fired, and Zelensky’s chief of staff intervenes.
Several dozen people gathered November 2 outside a private home in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, near Kyiv, after social media posts earlier that day claimed armed people were holding about 40 people in the house’s basement.
Citizens gathered around a private residence near Kyiv on November 2 after social media posts claimed armed soldiers were holding around 40 people in the basement. The residents claimed the detained individuals were soldiers who had left their units without permission and were being beaten. One woman, whose son was detained, told journalists that her son was among those held.
Police arrived after private ambulance personnel called them, stating they were prevented from entering the house. The police dismissed the reports of illegal detentions, claiming the house housed servicemen from a National Guard unit. National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko confirmed this, stating the house was used for processing and training mobilized men.
Four people were taken out of the house and taken to medical personnel, one of whom had a broken spine. The National Guard confirmed the four were National Guard servicemen detained after leaving their unit. Another 18 servicemen remained inside and were reported to be "all fine." The house belonged to the National Guard's 1st Azov Corps.
About 100 people were gathered at the house, yelling at the police and National Guardsmen. Several attempts at dialogue were met with escalation, with eggs, flares, water bottles, thrown at law enforcement and the soldiers. Despite the arrival of the National Guard chief, the crowd remained outside demanding the release of the servicemen.
Some inside the house denied being beaten but showed signs of violence. The Chief of Staff of Ukraine's presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov, arrived at the house on the evening of November 3 and was led out in a thermal blanket, reportedly after being covered in a thermal blanket. Budanov stated 14 people were in the house, including a 14-year-old boy.
On the morning of November 3, masked individuals dispersed the crowd. The events were deemed unacceptable for the state and damaging to Ukrainian unity, said Budanov. Authorities were investigating the incident, stating it was "not without outside influence." Valentina Molodaya, the owner of a now-closed private clinic, spread the information about the illegal detentions.
Police confirmed she called law enforcement to the scene, and investigators found she had been planning the event for days, purchasing an ambulance and donning a medical worker's uniform.
Written by urgent.news from Meduza (English)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
