Military draft officers were reportedly spotted setting a car on fire in an attempt to smoke out a prospective volunteer, new footage shows
Ukrainian military conscription and police officers allegedly filled a private vehicle with flammable gas and then set it on fire in a Kiev suburb, a video released on social media suggests.
The alleged incident comes amid the increasingly violent hunt in Ukraine for eligible men to send to the front lines.
The two-minute clip, apparently captured by a witness from a nearby home, gained traction on Thursday. It shows three conscription officers in camouflage uniforms and two police officers attempting to gain entry to a parked car in Vyshgorod, a northern suburb of Kiev.
In the video, a black-clad police officer repeatedly sprays a substance into the car while a man in military attire bends the top of the front door. One of the conscription officers then appears to use a lighter to ignite the gas, causing a plume of flame to erupt from the vehicle.
One officer can be heard laughing loudly, while another smiles. The video ends before revealing who was inside the car or how the incident concluded.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry condemned the “incident in Vyshgorod, which was captured on video and shared on social media,” stating that it is cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.
“All those involved in this incident will be brought to justice in accordance with the laws of Ukraine,” the ministry said in a Telegram post on Thursday, noting that such actions undermine trust in the country’s armed forces.
In recent months, videos of increasingly violent recruitment efforts in Ukraine have become more common amid Kiev’s attempts to replenish its battlefield losses. The mobilization campaign has also been plagued by widespread draft-dodging and bribery.
In light of Ukraine’s setbacks on the battlefield, some senior figures among its major NATO backers have suggested lowering the draft age from 25 to 18. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Reuters that Kiev needs to send more young men “into the fight.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked that such a policy decision “would be nothing short of a crime,” adding that even if Kiev lowers the draft age to 14, it will “still fail to change the situation on the battlefield.”
“We are not fighting against the Ukrainian people, but against the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev,” the Russian leader stated on Monday, asserting that the country’s leadership commits daily crimes against both Ukrainians and Russians.
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