Clashes Near Kyiv: What Happened at National Guard Site?

A crowd gathered outside a private house in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, a village on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Monday evening, after claims circulated online that armed men were holding about 40 people in a basement and preventing medics from reaching them.Kyiv regional police denied that people were being held unlawfully or that anyone had died. They said the property was being used to accommodate servicemen from a National Guard unit before they were sent for training.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Kyiv Post breaks down what is known about the clashes, the conflicting accounts, and the investigation into the alleged mistreatment of servicemen.What prompted the police response?Police said they received a call from a private ambulance crew reporting that they were being prevented from reaching a person.Officers arriving at the scene found National Guard servicemen at the property and local residents gathered nearby. Senior Kyiv regional police officials and National Guard commanders subsequently attended the scene.Police rejected reports of unlawful detention and a death. They also said the men inside were in satisfactory condition and denied allegations of beatings and torture.What did people outside the house allege?A lot of people had gathered outside the building. Some identified themselves as relatives of men inside.They alleged that the men were mobilized recruits who were being held and tortured, that money was being demanded from their families, and that medical workers were being denied entry. These allegations were disputed by police. Other Topics of Interest US Sets Ukraine-Russia Talks in Abu Dhabi as Trump Pushes for Peace Deal US, Ukrainian, and Russian officials are set to meet in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11 as Washington pushes for a peace deal, with security guarantees and post-war arrangements high on the agenda. A woman who introduced herself as Valentyna and said she owned the private clinic Med-Prestige told Suspilne that one man had been inside for more than 37 days after undergoing surgery in early September. She said four people were wounded and that relatives had called the ambulance.Videos circulating on Telegram showed a woman in medical clothing kneeling before police and pleading to be allowed inside to provide assistance.Questions over the ambulance and the woman’s roleUkrainian outlet identified the woman in the video as Valentyna Moloda, who uses the name Lilit_ on TikTok and describes herself online as an investigative journalist.According to Borys Breus, head of the Kyiv regional police department’s preventive activities division, Moloda called police and circulated allegations that people were being unlawfully confined and needed urgent medical attention.Her stated connection to Med-Prestige was subsequently challenged by Mykhailo Furman, identified in media reports as the clinic’s owner.Furman told journalists that the clinic stopped operating in 2023, although the company had not been formally closed. He said it previously had five ambulances: One was donated to Ukrainian troops in Mykolaiv and four were sold.According to Furman, the vehicle that appeared outside the house was the last to be sold in 2024. He said the buyers had agreed to remove the clinic’s branding and disputed Moloda’s right to present herself as its owner.What happens next?The military ombudsman and National Guard commanders were reported to be working at the scene following the unrest, with an inquiry to be commissioned to establish the circumstances.National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko arrived after clashes outside the house, where gas was used as people fought, shouted, and livestreamed the confrontation.Pivnenko confirmed that the servicemen inside included personnel who had left their units without authorization. He said four men needed medical assistance and were taken to hospital.He described the house as a temporary accommodation and processing point for National Guard personnel where mobilized recruits underwent registration and checks before being sent to a training center.National Guard spokesperson Ruslan Muzychuk denied a claim that one man had a broken spine, saying all four men had walked to the ambulance. His account did not provide their diagnoses.Pivnenko said he was personally overseeing an internal investigation, which would include questioning the commander responsible for the site and medical staff stationed there. He pledged to hold those responsible accountable if violations by National Guard personnel were established.He also said the accommodation site urgently needed to be relocated because its location had become public, exposing it to a potential Russian missile strike.Addressing the crowd, Pivnenko urged people not to break down doors or force their way onto military premises. He rejected accusations that National Guard personnel were torturing servicemen at the site.Pivnenko showed servicemen undergoing registration and said they would receive 58 days of basic military training followed by 14 days of unit integration training.Their subsequent assignments would be decided by their commanders, he said, adding that they would not necessarily serve in assault roles because the force also needed logistics personnel and other specialists. Separate checks into allegations of abuseThe National Guard’s 1st Azov Corps said it was checking allegations that servicemen had been tortured at the temporary deployment site of military unit in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka.Military Ombudswoman Olha Reshetylova said her office was working at the scene alongside National Guard commanders.“All servicemen are safe and are receiving the necessary medical assistance,” she said.Reshetylova announced a review to establish the circumstances and said her office expected cooperation from law enforcement agencies and the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU.Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office, also arrived at the scene, according to state news agency Ukrinform, which reported that people were being led out of the building.Budanov pledges law enforcement oversight“I came to find out what the f*ck is going on here,” he said. “The case will be overseen by the State Bureau of Investigation, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and other law enforcement agencies.”The State Bureau of Investigation, known by its Ukrainian acronym DBR, investigates alleged crimes involving, among others, military personnel and senior officials.Local media reported that the police special operations unit KORD also arrived. Gunshots were heard and gas was used during the confrontation. The information provided did not establish who fired the shots.Budanov urged the crowd to disperse. In comments to Channel 24, he said 14 people had been inside the building. Questions over a teenager found insideFootage published by telegram channels showed Budanov speaking to a boy who said he was 14.Budanov then called the teenager’s sister and asked her to come and collect him. The boy was subsequently escorted outside.The teenager, born in 2011, had been in the building’s basement. Preliminary reports suggested he may have been pushed or lifted over the perimeter fence, but the circumstances of his entry remained unclear.A separate account accompanying footage alleged that the boy had earlier damaged the fence and thrown stones at windows.Azov commander accuses crowd of discrediting the militaryThe National Guard’s 1st Azov Corps identified the property as a temporary deployment site for the military unit, which falls under its command.Brig. Gen. Denys Prokopenko, an Azov commander, accused participants in the confrontation of discrediting Ukrainian troops and creating an information picture favorable to Russia. He said their actions deepened divisions between the military and society.Investigators open criminal proceedingsFollowing the clashes, Budanov said authorities were preparing measures to ensure an “appropriate response and prevent provocations.”In a social media statement, he described the events as unacceptable and damaging to Ukrainian unity in the face of Russia’s threat. He said law enforcement agencies were establishing the full circumstances to hold those responsible accountable and prevent a recurrence.The State Bureau of Investigation subsequently announced that it had opened criminal proceedings into suspected abuse of authority by a military official under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.According to the bureau, the house temporarily accommodated National Guard servicemen who had returned after leaving their units without authorization. A crowd gathered after allegations of unlawful detention circulated online. The confrontation escalated into clashes during which shots were fired and police vehicles were damaged, investigators said.Bureau investigators worked at the scene alongside prosecutors, police, and representatives of the military ombudsman’s office, with the National Guard’s full cooperation, the statement said.The bureau cautioned that accounts circulating about the incident were sometimes contradictory and that some claims lacked adequate confirmation. It pledged to examine all reports of possible human rights violations and assess the conduct of those involved solely on established facts and collected evidence.It urged the public and media to avoid premature conclusions and said further updates would be released within the limits permitted by law.