The SBI is investigating possible abuse of authority following clashes near Kyiv

The State Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal proceedings following clashes involving gunfire in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, in Kyiv Oblast, which took place yesterday, November 2. The investigation concerns a possible abuse of authority or official powers by a military officer, under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

According to investigators, a private house was being used as a temporary accommodation site for service members of the National Guard of Ukraine who had been returned after leaving their military unit without authorization. Civilians began gathering outside the building after reports appeared on social media alleging that the service members were being unlawfully held there. The standoff escalated into clashes, during which police vehicles were also damaged.

Officers of the State Bureau of Investigation went to the scene. The following took part in the investigative actions:

• prosecutors;
• representatives of the National Police;
• representatives of the Office of the Military Ombudsman;
• the National Guard of Ukraine — which assisted with the investigative actions.

Investigators must establish the circumstances and conditions in which the service members were staying at the house, verify reports of possible coercion, and determine the causes of the conflict and how it unfolded.

The State Bureau of Investigation noted the large number of different, and at times contradictory, accounts of the incident. Some claims currently in circulation have not been properly substantiated. The Bureau assured the public that it would conduct a full, objective, and impartial investigation, and that the actions of everyone involved would be assessed on the basis of established facts and collected evidence.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights, also responded to the conflict. He has sent requests to all law enforcement agencies and is demanding that they verify:

• the legal grounds on which service members and representatives of the National Guard were in the building;
• what tasks they were carrying out there;
• whether the requirements of the law were observed.

The Ombudsman also called for a legal assessment of the actions of the civilians who, he said, took part in an attack on the service members. Lubinets condemned any attacks on military personnel, representatives of the National Guard and the National Police.

At the same time, he stressed that it is wrong to prejudge the matter by exonerating one side and accusing the other. All the circumstances must first be established, and the actions of each person involved assessed objectively.

The Ombudsman urged Ukrainians to prevent similar conflicts from escalating further and to preserve social unity during the war.

“We have a common enemy — Russia. That is what we must remember above all,” Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stressed.

We previously reported:

• In Lviv, a man was forcibly put into a car, and a member of a notification group drew a weapon
• Military personnel reported “pits,” beatings, and threats of execution in the 225th Regiment
• Skelia medics tortured and detained fellow soldiers: two arrested, facing up to 10 years
• “Why did you shoot him?”: stories of Skelia fighters
• Taxi drivers gathered at the Territorial Recruitment Center in Mykolaiv amid suspicions that a colleague had been unlawfully taken there