The Head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov, said there had been outside influence on the events that took place on 2 November in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in Kyiv Region. According to him, the incident bears the hallmarks of an attempt to divide Ukrainian society and set the military against the civilian population.
The Head of the Office of the President said this in a video address.
"What happened yesterday in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka is unacceptable for our society and our state, especially in the situation the country is in. Dividing us and pitting us against one another, setting the army against its own people, is a cynical and well-known method," Budanov said.
He stressed that those involved in organising and carrying out these events would be identified and held accountable. He also said that conclusions must be drawn within the security services. The Prosecutor General’s Office and the relevant agencies have already launched an investigation.
Budanov urged people not to allow lawlessness and to remember the role of Ukraine’s servicemen and women in defending the state.
"No one has the right to act with impunity. Each of us must remember: the main pillar of Ukraine’s existence right now is our Defence Forces. We respect their daily feat and must be responsible in our decisions," the Head of the Office of the President emphasised.
Update. In a comment to TSN, Kyrylo Budanov said that a woman who posed as an ambulance medic and made a claim about people being tortured in a basement had been detained. It emerged that three days before the incident she and the driver had carried out reconnaissance of the area near the building used by the National Guard of Ukraine.
This woman had bought an ambulance vehicle in advance and dressed in a medic’s uniform.
He said that by the time he arrived, three cars had already been smashed and a crowd of around 500 people had gathered.
There was a minor inside the building. He was given medical assistance, and his sister took the boy away. What the teenager was doing there and how he ended up there will be established by the competent authorities. Yesterday he told Budanov that he had come to the building with “the lads”, Suspilne reports. This teenager had previously been recorded on video. He was jumping on the building’s fence and swearing.
According to Budanov, the servicemen who were taken to hospitals for checks mostly did not need medical assistance.
The Head of the Office of the President explained that it is impossible to accommodate all mobilised personnel in permanent deployment locations, i.e. barracks, so in населённые пункты various rented or otherwise formally arranged buildings are sometimes used.
“There were cases where there was, so to speak, an overstepping of authority in the use of buildings and in certain actions towards mobilised personnel, and especially towards people who committed one or another violation from a military point of view. In principle, this is abnormal and wrong, but there is also the reality that there are not enough permanent deployment locations for everyone right now,” he said.
Context
- In the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, unrest broke out near a building where servicemen from a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine were staying. Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene, and later the NGU commander Oleksandr Pivnenko came. Inside the building were mobilised personnel and four servicemen who had returned after unauthorised absence from their unit. Those four people had injuries and it was decided to take them to hospital for examination. While speaking to journalists, the men who were in the building said that no violence had been used against them.
- This was preceded by a call to the police from staff of a private ambulance service, who reported that they were being obstructed from accessing a citizen. Upon arriving at the scene, police established that the incident was taking place near a private house where servicemen from one of the National Guard’s units were present.
- Civilians began gathering near the building, demanding that the mobilised servicemen on the premises be handed over to them. After being refused, they tried to enter without authorisation.
- The 1st Corps of the NGU “Azov” commented on the events in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. The command condemned unlawful actions against NGU servicemen, while also warning citizens against obstructing the work of military units.
- The Head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov, arrived at the scene of the clashes in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka and said that 14 people were inside the building. He called the situation unacceptable, in particular because of the obstruction of hospitalisation for those who needed medical assistance. According to him, the next day they should already establish why such facilities are operating and what is happening inside.
- The State Bureau of Investigation opened criminal proceedings over the clashes. Investigators are checking possible abuse of authority by military officials, the legality of National Guard troops being in the house, and reports of possible coercion against them. They also have to establish the circumstances of the conflict and provide a legal assessment of the actions of all participants.
- Military Ombudswoman Olha Reshetylova reported that among the servicemen who were at the deployment point were defenders of Mariupol and “Azovstal” who had been held in Russian captivity and returned to service. She stressed that the inspection must establish whether the rights of servicemen were respected, including those who returned after unauthorised absence and new recruits.
- At the same time, the NGU “Khartiia” Corps said Russia was trying to use similar conflicts to discredit the military and split Ukrainian society.