On May 13, a number of Ukrainian Telegram channels posted a video of a man in uniform beating a woman in Odesa, with the victim claiming that it was a representative of the local military commissariat. The press service of the territorial center for recruitment and social support announced the start of an official investigation.
The woman claims that she first came to the police station to file a complaint against the taxi driver. According to her, he had sprayed the victim and her friends with pepper spray. While she was filing the report, a military officer entered the police station and introduced himself as an employee of the TCC. After the statement was written, she said, the police refused to let the people out.
“They didn't let us out for two hours, but then they released two 19-year-old boys. They refused to let the third one go, so I stayed with him,” she said.
Then, she claims, a man in uniform appeared and brought two more soldiers.
“They said that they were taking mine to another place to ‘spend the night’ and would then ‘sort it out’. After that, they took the guy to the TCC, and I started filming the driver of the car who was leaving,” the woman said.
At that time, she said, a man in uniform ran out of the police station and beat her.
“If representatives of the TCC are found guilty and proven guilty, they will be brought to justice in accordance with the current legislation. The leadership of the Odesa Regional TCC condemns any manifestations of violence and cooperates with law enforcement agencies to establish the real circumstances,” the TCC responded.
Photos (bruises and scratches on the body are visible) and a video of the woman's beating were also posted online.
