On Saturday, August 3, 2024, in the city of Kovel, Volyn region, a protest action took place near the premises of the territorial procurement center (TCC). Outraged residents gathered near the building, expressing their dissatisfaction with the actions of the TCC representatives, who, in their opinion, illegally detained the three young men.
Photos and videos from the protest spread on social networks. The protesters demanded the TCC employees to release the detainees.
According to local media, the young men were released late in the evening and the protest ended without casualties.
As Olga Buzuluk, the spokeswoman of the regional office of the National Police, told Suspilno, several police units and an investigative-operational group worked on the spot. According to law enforcement officers, several dozen people gathered near the premises of the Kovel TCC.
"The police are investigating the circumstances of this event and identifying the participants. Information on this fact is registered in the journal of the unified record of citizens' applications and notifications," said the spokeswoman. "After finding out all the details, further procedural decisions will be made."
The video shows that dozens of protesters blocked the road in front of the TCC and tried to get inside the institution.
Later, the leadership of the Volyn regional TCC reacted to this event.
In his statement, it is said that the three men were indeed taken to the TCC due to the lack of military registration documents.
"They have been invited to the Kovel Central Committee and SP to check their relationship to military service, bring them to administrative responsibility, etc."
The author of the photo, social networks
The actions of the military were called absolutely legal. In the future, according to the Volyn regional territorial center of procurement, the Russian special services began to use the situation.
The author of the photo, social networks
"The calls to riot, which spread yesterday on social networks of the Kovel territorial community and the Volyn region, were noticed by hostile propaganda channels, which successfully used it for their own purposes," the statement said.
The author of the photo, social networks
The TCC believes that the conflict was supported and directed in the "necessary direction" by the Russian special services through the relevant "information systems".
The following methods of their work seem to indicate this: emotional swings, manipulation of citizens' consciousness, incitement to disobedience, etc.
Internet bot activity was also detected. The leadership of the TCC considers this situation "completely provoked" and emphasizes the responsibility of those who "incited citizens to illegal actions and those who took the most active part in it."
The local authorities of Kovel did not comment on this event.
