Interior Minister Orders Probe into Conditions for National Guard Servicemen in Kyiv Region

Ukraine's Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said on 2 November that he had ordered an internal investigation into events in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in Kyiv Oblast. The inquiry will check all information, including the conditions in which servicemen were staying in the building. The house was used by personnel of a unit of Ukraine's National Guard, a military force under the Interior Ministry.

What happened

Kyiv Oblast police reported on 2 November that disorder had broken out near a private house in the village, where servicemen of a National Guard unit are staying. National Guard commander Major General Oleksandr Pivnenko, his deputies and the leadership of the National Police arrived at the scene. A Ukrainska Pravda correspondent reported gunshots and sirens coming from the yard of the house. The head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, is also at the scene.

The minister's statement

On social media, Vyhivskyi wrote that he was receiving regular reports throughout the day from the National Guard commander, the acting head of the National Police and the command of the National Guard's 1st Corps "Azov". According to him, relatives of the servicemen who were inside the building were given an opportunity to communicate with them. Medics and several members of the public were also invited into the premises. The State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Military Ombudsman are working at the scene.

Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova said a review had been launched to establish all the circumstances.

Azov's explanation

The 1st Corps "Azov" of the National Guard said the location housed mobilised personnel and servicemen detained after going absent without leave, who were awaiting assignment to military units and further service.