‘Educational conversations’: How rioters in Lviv who flipped a recruiter’s car wound up on camera, praising Ukraine’s military and vowing to enlist

In Lviv, several people who had taken part in clashes with staff of a territorial recruitment center (TRC) — the offices that carry out Ukraine’s contentious draft — appeared on camera to apologize to soldiers. The videos were posted by Anton Petrovsky, a veteran of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and Dmytro Kukharchuk, a deputy commander of the 3rd Army Corps, who said they had held “educational conversations” with those involved in the unrest.

In one of the videos, Lviv residents, including teenagers, chant “Glory to the TRCs!” Two of the participants then ask for forgiveness. One promises to enlist in the Ukrainian Armed Forces; the other says he is a soldier on leave and promises to return to the front.

The clashes broke out late in the evening of July 8 in Sykhiv, during so-called mobilization measures. A crowd damaged and overturned a vehicle belonging to the local TRC. Lviv outlets reported that passersby noticed a TRC group notifying residents of mobilization and began interfering with the soldiers’ work. The altercation then escalated into clashes. Videos spread on social media showing a crowd surrounding the already-damaged TRC vehicle and overturning it to cries of “Shame!”

According to the account of the Lviv regional TRC, the conflict began after personnel checked the documents of a city resident born in 1996 who had been wanted since June 12 for violating military registration rules. One group of soldiers brought the man to the TRC while a crowd surrounded and blocked another group of TRC staff along with their vehicle. That group of Lviv residents, the TRC said, behaved aggressively, caused significant damage, and ultimately overturned the official vehicle.

Prosecutors estimated that around 200 people took part in the clashes. Two military personnel were injured. Two criminal cases were opened — one for obstructing the activities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and one for violence against a law enforcement officer. One participant has been arrested: 23-year-old Oleh Havryliv, who, according to investigators, sprayed pepper spray toward one police officer and struck another. At his court hearing, Havryliv said he serves as a private in the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, which he had left without authorization in February of this year. His lawyer said he was beaten during his arrest.

The recruitment center also announced an internal investigation, which is expected to assess the conduct of all parties to the conflict, including the soldiers and police officers present at the scene. The Lviv outlet “Zakhid” reported that police who arrived at the scene largely watched the conflict unfold without intervening to prevent the destruction of the military vehicle. A video also spread on social media showing one of the soldiers striking a civilian. The TRC said the clip was taken out of context and that the action may have been self-defense. The outlet “Strana” claimed that a fight had triggered the unrest.

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, was among the first to respond to the unrest in Lviv, speaking the morning after it occurred. “If you’re out here today ripping the clothes off and beating up a soldier from your own army, ask yourself who’s going to protect you tomorrow from the enemy — who’ll do the exact same thing, except this time it’s your clothes coming off,” he said, adding that he expected a “fair response” from law enforcement.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry also condemned the “attack on servicemen,” noting that the only party to benefit from the situation was Russia — the videos from Lviv, including the apologies, did indeed spread through Russian media, both state and independent. The ministry added that mobilization was a necessary component of Ukraine’s defense but acknowledged that its methods required improvement.

Ukraine’s parliament commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, also said after the Lviv incident that Ukraine needed to reform its mobilization system, calling for transparent, clear, and fair rules that would equally protect both state interests and human rights.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the Lviv unrest a day later. “This is a very bad incident and a very bad attitude toward people in military uniform, and it should not be this way,” he said, adding that the relevant agencies were handling the situation.

Amid a protracted war and ongoing mobilization, Ukrainians have long complained about unlawful conduct by TRC staff and what has become known as “busification” — the illegal detention of men of military age on the street and their forced loading into minibuses, or “busiki.” In 2025, according to Ukraine’s ombudsman, more than 6,000 complaints were filed against TRC staff.