Head and Four Subordinates Detained at Chernivtsi TCR: Torture, Kidnapping, and Bribes

The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), with the assistance of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, conducted a special operation detaining five employees of the Chernivtsi District Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support. Among the suspects are the head of the TCR department and four of his subordinates. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing an SBI statement. All detainees are dressed in camouflage uniforms, with SBI markings visible on their chest modules and helmets.

The Scheme: Illegal Detention, Coercion, and Bribes

According to the investigation, the head of the Chernivtsi District TCR department, together with his subordinates, allegedly established a scheme for the illegal detention of liable-for-military-service men, forcing them to agree to mobilization while also demanding money from them. Law enforcement officers documented one episode of human kidnapping, four episodes of torture, and one episode of extortion. All five have been served notices of suspicion of illegal deprivation of liberty or kidnapping by prior conspiracy, bribery, and torture committed by a state representative.

Episodes in the Town of Kitsman

Investigators recorded a number of specific cases in the town of Kitsman. According to their data, in early February 2026, during the detention of a conscript, traumatic weapons were used, wounding the man in the leg. The victim was taken to the TCR where, according to the investigation, he was denied medical assistance and forced to remove the bullet from the wound himself. The second documented episode occurred on September 30, 2026: due to a personal conflict, a war veteran who, according to the SBI, had defended Kyiv, Irpin, and Bakhmut since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, was kidnapped. The man was ambushed near a pedestrian crossing and forcibly dragged into a car.

Bribe and Case Sanctions

According to the investigation, the suspects demanded and received 5,500 euros from a conscript for his release after detention. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. The maximum penalty under the incriminated articles provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment. The SBI emphasizes that the detention was carried out as part of an ongoing investigation, rather than after the completion of all verification measures.

Context: Increased Control over Military Medical Commissions

The incident at the Chernivtsi TCR occurs against the backdrop of statements regarding increased control over the work of military medical commissions. As previously noted by Major Dmytro Lykhoviy, a representative of the Main Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the purpose of the innovations is to improve the quality of medical examinations and rule out the possibility of mobilizing citizens unfit for service. The detention of the leadership of the district TCR and its subordinates adds the issue of accountability of recruitment center employees for violations during the detention and coercion of conscripts to this topic.