Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mstyslav Banik has announced official audits in all territorial recruitment and social support centers (TRCs).
"Yesterday I held an urgent meeting with the Ground Forces Command regarding the incidents at the Odesa TRC. Any violence, violation of human rights, and degradation of human dignity toward people, some of whom will become our defenders, is categorically unacceptable, especially in the fifth year of the war. Based on the results of the meeting, official audits will be conducted in all TRCs to scrutinize citizens’ appeals regarding illegal detention, violence, and other unlawful actions as closely as possible," Banik wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
The Deputy Minister of Defense called for transparent communication with society and maximum cooperation with all law enforcement agencies.
He emphasized that incidents like the one at the Odesa TRC confirm once again "how critically overdue the TRC reform is," which the Defense Ministry is currently working on.
"The functions of the TRC must be distributed among other institutions, without a closed loop of accounting and mobilization. Hubs where people will wait to undergo military medical commissions, deployment to training centers and brigades, must be as comfortable and humane as possible, with 24/7 video recording and strict control of interaction with citizens at all stages," Banik said.
As reported, a group of individuals who, according to the investigation, forcibly detained and unlawfully held draft-eligible men was exposed in one of the district TRCs of Odesa region. Six district TRC officials and three representatives of a local public organization were detained in the case, the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation reported on June 16.
According to investigators, the officials enlisted civilians to track down citizens and collect information about them in order to boost mobilization metrics. SBI investigators documented facts of cruel treatment of the victims, who were unlawfully held inside the premises of the recruitment center, beaten, intimidated, and subjected to psychological pressure. Furthermore, according to law enforcement officers, specific instances of sexual violence against the victims were established.
During searches of the suspects’ properties, rubber batons, hammers, and other objects that investigators believe were used for physical abuse against citizens were seized. Currently, law enforcement officers have detained nine members of the group. They have been notified of suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, committed as part of an organized group.
In connection with the dissemination of information regarding the exposure of the illegal mobilization scheme in one of the district TRCs of Odesa region, the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine declared its full cooperation and comprehensive support for carrying out all necessary verifications within the framework of the investigation.
