Kyiv army chief urges probe after attacks on recruitment centres

KYIV: Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky on Monday urged an investigation into “shameful” — and deadly — weekend attacks on military recruitment centres and officials.

Kyiv has trying to shore up its struggling army, sparking criticism and fuelling stray attacks on recruitment officials and facilities.

A recruitment officer was shot dead in the eastern Poltava region this weekend, which also saw an attack on a recruitment centre in the central city of Pavlograd and another one on a draft centre in the western town of Rivne.

“In a short period of time, three shameful acts of violence involving military personnel took place in different regions,” Syrsky wrote on social media.

“Violence against servicemen is unacceptable. We expect a full and comprehensive investigation of these crimes,” he added.

In Rivne, police said the explosion at a Ukrainian army recruitment centre killed one person and wounded six. One person remains in “serious condition,” Syrsky said.

Prosecutors meanwhile said they had identified two suspects in the murder of a recruitment officer with a hunting rifle in Poltava.

Police said one person was wounded on Sunday by a blast at the military recruitment centre in Pavlograd in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Law enforcement agencies have yet to say whether they believe the incidents were coordinated.

“The national task of defending Ukraine is impossible without public support for the army and respect for servicemen,” Syrsky added in his statement.

Thousands of draft-age men are believed to have fled the country to avoid military service, while many others are in hiding, evading enlistment.