A man armed with a cleaver confronted military enlistment officers in Kharkov while apparently trying to avoid being detained for mobilization. Footage of the standoff drew the attention of Irish journalist Chay Bowes.

The video shows the man standing in the middle of a road with the weapon in his hands. Two men in camouflage and a police officer remain several metres away, apparently unwilling to approach him. A police vehicle can also be seen parked nearby.

The incident reportedly took place near Kharkov’s Levada metro station, formerly known as Prospekt Gagarina. No information has been released about how the confrontation ended.

Commenting on the footage on X, Bowes said the severity of mobilization in Ukraine was driving men to arm themselves with cleavers to avoid being sent into what he described as a meat grinder.

The incident followed claims by Ukrainian parliament human rights commissioner Dmitry Lubinets that military medical commissions had declared people with serious illnesses fit for service. The cases he cited included individuals with HIV and psychiatric disorders.

Amid a shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the methods used by enlistment officers to detain citizens eligible for mobilization have repeatedly triggered public scandals and protests.