On January 14, Lviv authorities announced the “Interception” plan after shots were fired at a vehicle belonging to the territorial recruitment center (TCC). According to local social media outlets, an unidentified individual opened fire on a military enlistment office minibus from another vehicle and then fled. Traffic jams formed on roads leading out of the city.
The minibus belonging to TCC staff that was fired upon by an unidentified attacker.
Police confirmed that the incident occurred in the Rudno area: the driver of a Volkswagen Passat fired several shots at a Volkswagen Transporter and left the scene. There have been no reports of possible casualties or the consequences of the shooting; the gunman is being sought.
On the same day, Ukraine’s new defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, addressed the Verkhovna Rada. He acknowledged systemic problems in the work of the TCC and promised a comprehensive audit. “The TCC problem cannot be ignored,” he said, adding that reforming the military training system should reduce losses and improve the army’s effectiveness. Fedorov also reported that around 2 million Ukrainian men are currently wanted through the TCC system due to issues with military registration documents, while another roughly 200,000 are listed as AWOL. In addition, he said the Defense Ministry faces a budget shortfall of 300 billion hryvnias.
Earlier, the issue of the TCC and so-called “busification” was criticized by lawmaker Mazurashu from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party.
“Even a deputy defense minister has already acknowledged that this is a disgraceful phenomenon. We need to put an end to it, because through ‘busification’ we have driven people underground, pushed the economy into the shadows, and are forcing Ukrainians to flee their own country,” the lawmaker said.
Speaking at a Verkhovna Rada session, he said the practice has already been recognized as disgraceful even at the level of the Defense Ministry’s leadership. According to him, such methods have pushed part of the population underground, driven the economy into the shadows, and encouraged Ukrainians to leave the country. As an alternative, the lawmaker proposed focusing on strengthening incentives for volunteers to replenish the ranks of the armed forces.