On April 21-22, the Facebook page “World News” shared a video claiming to show a Ukrainian military commissariat officer threatening a civilian accompanied by a child with a firearm because he refused to go to war. At the beginning of the uploaded video, two men are seen outside on a street or in a yard – one accompanied by a child, the other holding an automatic firearm, which he soon raises and aims at the other man. At that moment, a third man sneaks up behind him in an attempt to disarm and neutralize him, resulting in a scuffle and several random shots being fired. Eventually, two men manage to take the weapon away from the armed individual, who then runs away.
The claim that the video shows a Ukrainian military commissariat officer pointing a weapon at a civilian because of his refusal to go to war is unverified. At this time, the exact cause of the conflict is unknown, but the armed individual is a soldier who, according to reports, was intoxicated at the time of the video recording and was quickly detained by the police.
Ukrainian media reported on April 21 that on April 20, during Easter celebrations in Kamianske, a drunk man fired a gun during a verbal dispute in a yard, but fortunately, no one was injured. According to the media, the individual has been detained, and upon identification, it was established that he is a soldier. The media report also provides footage of the incident, which is identical to the video posted on Facebook.
According to a statement by the Dnipropetrovsk regional police, they received a report on April 20 that an unidentified person was firing an automatic firearm. They responded quickly and arrested a 44-year-old man. It was also noted that the detainee was under the influence of alcohol. An investigation has been launched, and the suspect could face up to 7 years in prison.
Contrary to the claims circulated on Facebook, neither the police statement nor Ukrainian media reports mention that the attacker represented the military commissariat. and at the time of filming the video, he was trying to forcibly enlist someone for combat. According to official information, the only confirmed details so far are that the 44-year-old armed individual was intoxicated and is now under arrest.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022, Myth Detector has fact-checked numerous pieces of disinformation and video manipulations related to military mobilization in Ukraine.
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