Ukraine detains 13 over clashes at National Guard deployment site
Ukrainian security forces have detained 13 people over clashes on 2 November near a National Guard deployment site in Petropavlivska Borshahivka, Kyiv Oblast. Courts placed seven suspects under arrest, while six others were accused of hooliganism and resisting police. Investigators said 130 people may have been involved and conducted 14 additional searches.
Key points
- Clashes occurred on 2 November near a private house used as a National Guard deployment site in Petropavlivska Borshahivka.
- The SBU and National Police detained 13 participants and notified all of them of suspicions by 12 November.
- Seven suspects were accused of obstructing military activity and disseminating information about troop movements or locations.
- Six other suspects were accused of hooliganism and resisting law enforcement officers.
- The suspects face up to eight years in prison.
- Four servicemembers were hospitalized, while police and National Guard vehicles were damaged.
- Investigators identified 130 possible participants and conducted 14 additional searches.
Why it matters
The case involves alleged interference with Ukrainian military formations and the unauthorized disclosure of information about their movements and locations during wartime. The arrests form part of a broader inquiry that has identified 130 possible participants. The clashes also caused injuries and damage to law-enforcement and National Guard vehicles, while separate service investigations were ordered into the conditions of servicemembers held in the building and the actions of the military personnel involved.
What happened
Confrontation broke out near a private house in Petropavlivska Borshahivka on the evening of 2 November after online claims that about 40 people were being illegally detained and tortured in the building. Those claims were not substantiated. The crowd broke through gates and fencing, damaged windows, police vehicles and a National Guard bus, threw smoke devices and attempted to overturn the bus. Four servicemembers were injured and hospitalized.
The SBU and National Police subsequently detained 13 participants. Seven were accused of obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces and other military formations and of disseminating information about their movements or locations. The other six were accused of hooliganism and resisting law enforcement officers. Courts placed seven suspects under arrest, including one 22-year-old man for whom a 66,000-hryvnia bail option was reported. During the investigation, investigators conducted 14 additional searches and identified 130 people who may have been involved.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian reporting centers on the arrests, criminal suspicions, preventive measures and continuing investigation. It also examines the alleged conduct of individual suspects, including road-blocking, damage to vehicles, calls to target special-purpose transport and use of a forged medical identification document. Authorities have described the building as a National Guard deployment site housing mobilized servicemembers awaiting training-unit assignments and troops who had left their units without authorization. The National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Bureau of Investigation opened inquiries into the events.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on the crowd size: early reports put it at roughly 100 people, while accounts from the time Kyrylo Budanov arrived cited approximately 500. Investigators have also identified either about 100 or 130 people as potentially involved, according to differing reports.
Background
The site was the temporary deployment location of the National Guard's 14th Assault Regiment, part of the 1st Corps "Azov." The house contained mobilized servicemembers awaiting distribution to training units and servicemembers detained after leaving their units without authorization. National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko and Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov attended the scene.