Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov has called "shameful" a video showing a Territorial Recruitment Center officer striking a man twice near a water dispenser. According to Terekhov, the victim is a Kharkiv-based teacher of history, human rights, and the "Defense of the Fatherland" course, as well as the homeroom teacher for an 8th-grade class. He reportedly had a valid deferment and presented the relevant documents to the Territorial Recruitment Center representatives.
A Territorial Recruitment Center officer struck a man in the stomach twice while another officer was checking his documents.
Terekhov said the footage clearly shows that the man "did not break the law, did not provoke a conflict, and did not resist. He behaved calmly and showed no signs of aggression." Nevertheless, this did not stop the Territorial Recruitment Center officer from using force.
The regional Territorial Recruitment Center claims that "the conflict arose as a result of provocative actions by the citizen."
The mayor called on the leadership of all law enforcement agencies to carry out a full investigation and hold the perpetrator accountable. "This is no longer just another incident—this is a fundamental question of justice," he emphasized.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and the teacher from Kharkiv who was assaulted by a Territorial Recruitment Center officer.
Terekhov’s appeal marked a rare instance of a Ukrainian official publicly calling for accountability over unlawful conduct or violence during the mobilization process. Although hundreds of videos showing Territorial Recruitment Center officers using force have circulated online, the official response has more often been silence—or efforts to shift blame onto civilians.
In concluding his statement, Terekhov stressed that anyone in uniform must embody honor—"not the opposite." He also urged the media and the public not to look away: "We will be a democratic country only when everyone—a teacher, a soldier, a doctor, or anyone else—has the right to protection and to be treated with dignity."