DBR opens criminal case after clashes outside National Guard deployment site in Kyiv region

Why it matters

Investigators are examining whether the military personnel's stay was lawful and whether force was used against them. The clashes injured four service members, damaged police vehicles and a National Guard bus, and reportedly resulted in an assault on a journalist. The incident also raises concerns about public trust in the armed forces and the spread of unverified claims involving military locations, while responsibility and the motives of those involved remain unresolved.

What happened

The confrontation began after social media posts claimed that people were being illegally detained, tortured and killed inside a private house in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. Around 100 people reportedly gathered, attempted to enter the building, damaged gates, windows and a fence, and threw stones, smoke grenades and pyrotechnic devices. Shots were fired, and the crowd damaged a National Guard bus and police vehicles.

The house was being used as a temporary deployment point for National Guard military unit No. 3121, subordinate to the 1st Azov Corps. It housed mobilized people awaiting training and service members returned after voluntarily leaving their units. Commander of the National Guard Oleksandr Pivnenko and head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov arrived at the scene. Four injured service members were taken to a medical facility.

Valentina Moloda, who arrived first in a branded ambulance and reported illegal detention, was detained. Budanov said she and her driver had been reconnoitering the site for at least three days, and that photographs and correspondence with Telegram channels that later spread information about the incident were found in her phone. The stated motive behind her actions remained undetermined.

On November 3, the DBR opened a criminal case under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code, concerning abuse of power or official authority by a service member. Investigators are checking the legality of all participants' actions, the legal basis for the troops' presence, possible use of force, and the causes and course of the conflict.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian reporting has focused on the legal basis for the deployment site's operation, the injuries and vehicle damage, and the parallel inquiries led by investigators, the military, the National Guard, the Interior Ministry, the military ombudsman, the Security Service and the human-rights commissioner. Officials have repeatedly warned against spreading unverified allegations or drawing conclusions before the investigation is complete, while stressing that the confrontation was unacceptable, harmed social cohesion and could benefit Russia's information campaign.

Where reporting differs

Sources disagree about the number of people inside the house: some report 14 people, while others report 22 service members, including four who had voluntarily left their units. Claims that roughly 40 people were detained, tortured and that someone died circulated online, but police and the National Guard rejected those claims. Ivan Tymochko described the incident as a planned Russian operation synchronized with a large missile strike; other sources described only an informationally advantageous scandal and did not confirm that claim.

Background

The private house was being used as a temporary deployment site for National Guard military unit No. 3121 of the 1st Azov Corps. Mobilized people awaiting training and service members returned after voluntarily leaving their units were accommodated there. Police confirmed that private ambulance workers were prevented from reaching a patient, but rejected the claims of hostages, unlawful detention and a death.