A Ukrainian television employee was forcibly detained by draft officers outside his workplace in Kiev on Sunday, with video footage showing police and military personnel shoving the resisting man into a vehicle.

The incident took place outside the main studio of Inter, one of Ukraine’s major national television channels. The detained individual was identified by local media as an editing director working for the broadcaster’s news team.

The recorded clip, shared on Telegram, depicts a chaotic scene where several officers surrounded the employee while bystanders tried to intervene. Nearby, a man in military fatigues can be seen pushing a civilian to the ground.

Witnesses captured the footage, which was filmed by colleagues of the detained individual. The employees reportedly warned the officers that their actions would be broadcast on television.

The Kiev branch of Ukraine’s Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC), responsible for mobilization, defended the detention, claiming the officers had acted lawfully. According to the agency, the editing director lacked a registered military deferment and was in violation of recruitment rules. The TCC also stated that neither the employee nor his employer had sought exemptions.

Ukraine has restricted most military-age individuals from leaving the country since the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022, and later reduced the minimum mobilization age from 27 to 25.

The conscription drive has grown increasingly contentious as Ukraine faces battlefield setbacks and a shortage of volunteers.

While Ukraine does not release regular figures on battlefield casualties, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported last week that Ukrainian forces have been suffering approximately 27,000 killed or wounded per month. This information was provided by Ukrainian partners.

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov stated in December that Ukraine had lost nearly 500,000 troops killed or wounded in the year 2025 alone.

The term “busification” — used by Ukrainians to describe the forced detention and transportation of military-age men to recruitment centers — has become increasingly common online. Such incidents have repeatedly led to clashes between TCC personnel and civilians.

Moscow has long accused Kyiv of aiming to fight “to the last Ukrainian” under Western influence, which it claims is part of a proxy war against Russia.