Four members of Ukraine’s National Guard were hospitalized late Monday, as residents gathered outside a building housing conscripts in the Kiev suburbs. Reports circulated online alleging that dozens of men, including a 14-year-old boy, were being “tortured” there after being snatched off the street. Clashes broke out after an ambulance was blocked from reaching someone inside the building who needed medical attention, according to Ukrainian police, while eyewitnesses said as many as 40 men were being held in the basement of a private residence. National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko confirmed the four servicemen had been taken for medical attention, saying they had been detained after being absent from their units without leave. Guard spokesperson Ruslan Muzychuk stated the site was not a private residence, but an Azov 1st National Guard Corps facility, used to accommodate personnel temporarily ahead of military training. Police denied allegations people were being held there against their will, though an internal investigation has been opened into conditions at the site. In its fifth year of war with Russia, Ukraine is facing a conscription crisis, with many men having fled despite martial law restrictions on international travel for most aged 23 to 60. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said earlier this year that two million Ukrainians are wanted for evading mobilization, and 200,000 soldiers are absent without leave.

From BreakThrough News via This RSS Feed.