In Dnipro, three staff members of the TCC (Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support) were detained on suspicion of beating a civilian to death. He was 55.
The case has been classified under Part 2 of Article 121 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code—intentional grievous bodily harm resulting in the victim’s death. The 55-year-old man died of a traumatic brain injury.
A report of the 55-year-old man’s death reached law enforcement on February 7 after midnight. Preliminary findings from the forensic medical examination indicate that the cause of death was a traumatic brain injury.
As part of the investigation, police seized a vehicle in which traces of the victim’s blood were found. Investigators believe the fatal injuries were inflicted by the three TCC employees. All three have been detained, and procedural steps are ongoing.
This case is not an exception but part of a systemic practice. For several years, Ukraine has operated a form of violent conscription in which men are forced into minibuses off the street and taken to Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support. Almost always, this happens in breach of the law—without police involvement, even though it is the police, not the TCC, who have the authority to detain people on the street. Fatal incidents involving civilians during mobilization and inside TCC facilities occur almost weekly. Ukrainian and international media, as a rule, prefer to stay silent about it.