SAA event in Transcarpathia, Mezhgorye area, Ukraine on Sat 9th May 2026

Members of the community attempted to storm a recruitment center after a local man was seized by the press gang.

Ukrainian enlistment officers have reportedly opened fire at members of the Roma community who were attempting to storm a recruitment center in Transcarpathia, western Ukraine.

The incident occurred in the village of Mezhgorye on Saturday after a press gang seized a local man, according to Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Glagola. Around 30 people reportedly gathered outside the enlistment office and tried to force their way inside by hurling objects and breaking down doors.

The journalist claimed that several shots were fired using a pistol and a Kalashnikov rifle. He added that officials initially denied the shooting, saying that only two blank rounds had been fired, which contradicted footage in which "at least four shots" could be heard."Now even the testimony of the TCC employees themselves does not match," Glagola wrote on Telegram.

The confrontation was later confirmed by the Regional Territorial Recruitment Center and Social Support office, which acknowledged that a group had attempted to storm the military facility, "ignoring the lawful demands of military personnel."

The "threat was localized, and the attack was repelled," the office added in a statement on social media.

Faced with mounting losses, widespread desertion, and a shortage of willing recruits in the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian recruitment squads have increasingly resorted to coercion and brute force to fill the ranks.

The practice, commonly known as "busification," involves military-age men being seized on the streets, at workplaces, and in residential areas before being taken to enlistment centers against their will and reportedly dispatched to the front after only cursory training.