Footage circulating online shows a road chase, gunfire, and uniformed men forced down on the ground in Odessa. Several Ukrainian mobilization officers accused of taking bribes have been arrested in a dramatic roadside raid in the southern city of Odessa. Video footage reportedly shared by local media depicts security service of Ukraine (SBU) officers descending on a van at a traffic light, with gunfire ringing out.
The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of Ukraine’s mobilization practices as battlefield losses mount. Images posted on local Telegram channels show men in military uniform lying face down on a busy road in broad daylight while armed officers carry out detentions. Gunfire is audible during the operation.
The detainees are reportedly officers from a Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC), suspected of attempting to forcibly mobilize a man who had a legal deferment and allegedly demanding $30,000–50,000 under threat of weapons. Local media, citing sources, reported that the victim alerted the SBU in advance. Odessa’s regional recruitment center confirmed personnel were detained. The heads of the regional and district recruitment centers have been suspended pending an internal investigation. A criminal case has been opened, and a service inquiry is ongoing.
Reports and videos have surfaced across Ukraine of violent conscription practices known as “busification”—snatching men off the streets and shoving them into unmarked minibuses. Conscription officers were recently caught on video attacking a 16-year-old boy in Odessa. Last month, a local resident fought off four Odessa TCC officers using a heavy metal chain, smashing their vehicle’s windows. In Kharkov, armed conscription officers reportedly shot and killed a man during an attempted forced mobilization in March.
With volunteer rates plummeting and the military suffering heavy casualties, less than 10% of new recruits join voluntarily, according to Ukrainian lawmaker Vadim Ivchenko, who admitted this last month. Desertion and draft evasion remain rampant, with an estimated 2 million potential conscripts on a wanted list. Moscow has accused Kiev of fighting “to the last Ukrainian” to serve Western interests. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov estimated that Ukraine had lost nearly 500,000 servicemen in 2025 alone, depriving Kiev of the ability to replenish its ranks even through compulsory mobilization.