A video going viral on Ukrainian social media appears to show a police officer choking a woman until she loses consciousness as she protests an attempt to forcibly mobilize a man.
The footage was reportedly recorded in Odessa this week, although few details about the incident have emerged since.
The altercation began when officers attempted to forcibly remove the driver of a parked car and put him into their vehicle, according to local media, prompting witnesses to intervene. One of the protesters, a woman, was placed in a choke-hold by an officer and soon collapsed to the ground, apparently fainting. Reports said she subsequently required medical assistance.
Some outlets suggested the detention was part of Ukraine’s notorious military mobilization campaign. Police have not issued an official statement, and there is no confirmation that the incident involved so-called “busification,” the practice of forcibly detaining potential recruits that has plagued the draft.
The mandatory conscription of fighting-age men, conducted to replenish losses in Kiev’s fight with Russia, has been marred by widespread corruption and abuses of power, as repeatedly documented by Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmitry Lubinets.
In a recent interview, he said those enforcing mobilization have increasingly been entering people’s homes, sometimes using force, to seize potential recruits. The practice is illegal, but “the reality is very different from what is written on paper,” the official said, referring to complaints received by his office.
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