Clashes and allegations at a Kyiv village
Protesters clashed with police at a private house in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka on November 2 after reports that the National Guard held AWOL servicemen in the residence. Relatives of the detained men gathered at the gates of the property to protest alleged beatings and torture of the soldiers. Protesters threw eggs at police and guardsmen, lit flares and broke through a brick wall, and were met with tear gas and shots fired into the air, the Kyiv Independent reported. The woman who called the police, identifying herself as the owner of a private ambulance service, told officials that her crew was being kept from a man inside who needed help, but Slidstvo.Info reported the ambulance carried the logo of Med-Prestyzh, a company that closed in 2023. She was also the owner of a cosmetic surgery clinic. Relatives confronted National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko over what they said were bruises around the men’s eyes and other signs of beatings. One mother, named Rita, said her son was picked up by recruitment officers on his way to work and that there were about 20 men in the house.
Pivnenko said the house was a "temporary point" for processing mobilized men before they were sent to a training center. The 1st Azov Corps said the building was a temporary base for unit 3121 and confirmed that four men had injuries. Four men detained after going AWOL were taken to a National Guard medical centre, where Pivnenko spoke to 18 other men. Police denied claims that 40 people were being held hostage or that someone had died. Resistance to enforcement officers is becoming more violent, as seen in a riot in Lviv where a crowd freed conscriptees and smashed a police vehicle.
Investigation into detention conditions
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office, arrived at the house at 10 pm and said 14 people were in the building. He said the blockade held up the transfer of men who needed treatment and called the events unacceptable. A video showed him finding a boy who said he was 14, after which he phoned the boy’s sister to collect him. Protesters claimed the teenager had been beaten with a shovel, though that has not been confirmed. Denys Prokopenko, the Azov commander, called the actions of some protesters "sabotage in the rear" and said the footage of civilians confronting soldiers satisfied the requests of the Russians. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi ordered an investigation into the conditions in which the soldiers were kept, while military ombudswoman Olha Reshetylova ordered a review.
| Statistic | Data |
|---|---|
| Desertion cases (Jan 2022 – Oct 2025) | 311,000 |
| Monthly mobilization requirement | 30,000 men |
| Men detained after going AWOL | 4 |
| Total people in building (per Budanov) | 14 |
The mobilization campaign is becoming aggressive as Kyiv struggles to replace troop losses. Budanov said Ukraine must mobilise 30,000 men a month to keep the army at its current size. Prosecutors registered more than 311,000 criminal cases for desertion between January 2022 and October 2025. No criminal case was publicly confirmed by the morning of November 3. The National Guard said it will no longer use the house.
