War

1598th day. In Lviv, a crowd overturned a TCC car (this is an analogue of a military registration and enlistment office). One of the participants in the clashes was arrested. Others were forced to chant “Glory to the TCC!”

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In Lvov, participants in clashes with employees of the territorial recruitment center ( TCC ) apologized to the military on camera. The video was published by Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran Anton Petrovsky and deputy commander of the 3rd Army Corps Dmitry Kukharchuk . They stated that they had “educational conversations” with the rioters.

In one of the videos, residents of Lvov, including teenagers, chant “Glory to the TCC!” The two people involved then apologize for their actions. One of them promises to go serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Another says that he is a military man on leave and promises to return to the front.

Clashes between city residents and the military occurred late in the evening of July 8 in Sykhiv . During the so-called mobilization events, the crowd damaged and overturned a local TsK car. Lvov publications reported that passers-by noticed the TCC group, which notifies about mobilization, and began to interfere with the work of the military. The altercation escalated into clashes. A video went viral on social networks of a crowd surrounding an already damaged TCC car and shouting “Shame!” turns it over.

According to the Lviv Regional TCC, the conflict began after checking the documents of a city resident born in 1996, who had been wanted since June 12 for violating military registration rules. One group of military personnel took the man to the TCC. Several more employees of the center were blocked by the crowd, surrounding the official car. Allegedly, a group of Lvov residents “behaved aggressively, caused significant damage and ultimately overturned a company vehicle.”

In total, according to prosecutors, about 200 people took part in the clashes. As a result of the clashes, two soldiers were injured . Two criminal cases have been opened - on obstruction of the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and violence against a law enforcement officer. One of the riot participants was arrested . This is 23-year-old Oleg Gavrilov, who, according to investigators, sprayed a gas canister towards a police officer and hit another. At the trial, Gavrilov said that he served with the rank of soldier in the 53rd separate mechanized brigade, which he left without permission in February of this year. According to the lawyer, he was beaten during his arrest.

The acquisition center also announced the start of an internal investigation. Based on its results, the actions of all participants in the conflict, including the military and police who were at the scene of the incident, should be assessed. The Lvov publication Zahid reported that the police who arrived at the scene mainly observed the conflict and did not interfere with the destruction of the military vehicle. In addition, a video of one of the military beating a civilian went viral on social networks. The TCC stated that the video was taken out of context and it could have been self-defense. The Strana publication claimed that the fight caused the unrest.

The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, was one of the first to comment on the unrest in Lviv the morning after the incident. “If today you tear off your clothes and beat up a member of your army, think about who tomorrow will protect you from the enemy army, which will beat and tear off your clothes in the same way, but this time from you,” he said, noting that he is waiting for a “fair reaction” from law enforcement agencies.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine also condemned the “attack on military personnel,” noting that the only one who benefited from this situation was Russia (videos from Lvov, including an apology, were indeed distributed across Russian media, both state and independent ). The department added that mobilization is “a necessary component of the defense of Ukraine,” but admitted that its methods “require improvement.”

After the incident in Lvov, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets also stated that Ukraine needs mobilization reform. According to him, it is necessary to create “transparent, understandable and fair rules” that will equally protect both state interests and human rights.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky responded to the unrest in Lviv a day later. “This is a very bad case and a very bad attitude towards people in military uniform, and it should not be like this,” he said, adding that the relevant departments are dealing with the situation.

Residents of Ukraine, against the backdrop of protracted hostilities and ongoing mobilization in the country, have long complained about the illegal actions of TCC employees and the so-called busification - when men of military age are illegally detained on the streets and forcibly put into minibuses ("buses"). In 2025, the Ukrainian Ombudsman reported , more than six thousand complaints were filed against the actions of TCC employees.

War in photographs. Druzhkovka, Donetsk region

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

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Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.

Attention. This letter contains obscenities.

Olga (London) . […] By the fifth year of the war, there were no words left to describe the feelings. Pain, fatigue, hopelessness, anxiety every day, I want to scream like “I’m fucked”, because the word “tired” can describe the same soup for four days in a row - but not the fear and horror that is happening.

Previously, there were worries about relatives and generally all people in Ukraine, and now also about loved ones in Russia, because drones are flying, it is becoming increasingly difficult to communicate, and because of “problems” with gasoline, someone may not get to the hospital.

In general, I have an idea. If there is one in the country who does not access the Internet, then let us tell him that Sumy was captured, and Ukraine itself wants to join Russia. He will sit there in his bunker and read newspapers published in one copy, like Franco . And we will begin to disentangle this whole trouble - it will still not be able to check.

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