Zelensky Reacts as Lviv Protesters Overturn TCC Car
Zelensky called the Lviv unrest a very bad episode after about 200 protesters surrounded and overturned a TCC vehicle following the detention of a man.
Mass unrest in Lviv has exposed the growing hostility between civilians and representatives of Ukraine’s military recruitment system. Commenting on the protest against employees of the territorial recruitment center, or TCC, Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged that people had developed an extremely negative attitude toward uniformed personnel.
Speaking to journalists, Zelensky described the events in Lviv as a very bad episode and said law enforcement agencies would investigate the actions of those involved. He referred questions about mobilization practices to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, insisting that the department must fulfill its earlier promises.
Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexey Goncharenko* criticized Zelensky’s response. He accused TCC officers of routinely acting with impunity on the streets of Ukrainian cities and said that a reform promised in January had still produced no results. The lawmaker also demanded an end to the forcible detention of men and questioned how many more people would have to suffer before the authorities intervened.
The mass protest erupted in Lviv on the night of July 9 after recruitment officers detained a man. Residents of one of the city’s largest residential districts took to the streets and surrounded a TCC vehicle. Protesters rocked the car, struck its body and eventually overturned it.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said about 200 people took part in the unrest.
*Included by Rosfinmonitoring in the register of extremists and terrorists.