- A Ukrainian border guards video has sparked outrage after footage allegedly showed two officers beating a man who tried to cross the Dniester River into Moldova. A Ukrainian blogger has called on Moldovan authorities to punish the officers.
- What Happened to the Ukrainian Man?
- Ukraine Calls the Incident a “Technical Malfunction”
- Blogger Condemns Ukraine’s Treatment of Draft Evaders
A Ukrainian border guards video has sparked outrage after footage allegedly showed two officers beating a man who tried to cross the Dniester River into Moldova. A Ukrainian blogger has called on Moldovan authorities to punish the officers.
The blogger spoke out after a video spread across social media. It was filmed on October 15 near the village of Holoshnitsa, on the banks of the Dniester River.
The footage shows two Ukrainian border guards in a motorboat chasing a man who is trying to swim across the river toward Moldova. Local residents shout at the guards from the riverbank. They accuse them of hitting the fleeing man on the head with an oar and trying to drown him.
The blogger, who says he also fled Ukraine and previously served in the police, called the incident revealing.
“I want to remind everyone that in Ukraine, crossing the state border is punishable by an administrative fine. And these two men—we do not even know whether they are border guards or simply bandits wearing camouflage—tried to kill a man in the water,” he said in his video message.
According to the blogger, Moldovans who witnessed the scene rushed to help the man. He claims they pulled him out of the water and stopped the guards from going any further.
“I simply want to say a huge thank you for showing the humanity that our own authorities in Ukraine fail to show,” he said.
The blogger also made a direct appeal to the Moldovan authorities. He asked them to punish the border guards.
“Punish these border guards. I am asking you very seriously. The people of Ukraine—the reasonable people of Ukraine—will support you,” he said.
What Happened to the Ukrainian Man?
The man pursued by the border guards is 49 years old. His name is Oleksii, and he is from Kyiv. He works as a doctor and clinical psychologist.
He says he was trying to cross the Dniester River to reach his family, which had previously left Ukraine. According to him, his documents exempting him from military service had been revoked. He tried to challenge the decision in court but failed.
After the incident, doctors hospitalized him at Soroca District Hospital with a concussion. They also reported abrasions. The man complained of a headache and dizziness.
Moldovan authorities opened a criminal case over the Ukrainian border guards’ alleged illegal crossing of the state border. The case falls under Article 362 of Moldova’s Criminal Code.
Authorities took the two guards to a police station in Cosăuți for “the application of legal procedures.” The Moldovan Border Police did not comment on the footage showing the alleged beating. It said only that “an investigation is underway.”
Ukraine Calls the Incident a “Technical Malfunction”
The Ukrainian side offered a different explanation. It described the incident as a “technical malfunction.”
Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, said the guards’ boat had allegedly “stalled because the river was too shallow.” He claimed the current then carried the boat and the detained man toward the Moldovan bank.
Demchenko said an internal investigation was underway. It would also examine the actions of the border patrol involved.
So hitting a man on the head with an oar and trying to drown him is a “technical malfunction”—is that right?
Later, reports confirmed that the two Ukrainian border guards had been handed over to Ukrainian authorities under a readmission agreement. Authorities found weapons in their possession. They seized the weapons along with the boat as part of the criminal investigation.
This is not the first time Ukrainian border guards have entered Moldovan territory while pursuing men fleeing military mobilization. But this is the first such case to result in criminal proceedings against the guards themselves.
It also produced footage showing local residents effectively rescuing a man from the very people tasked with detaining him. In the past, Ukrainian security personnel appeared to escape consequences for such incidents. Even this time, however, there is no guarantee that any of those involved will face real accountability.
Blogger Condemns Ukraine’s Treatment of Draft Evaders
In his video message, the blogger also described how Ukraine treats men who try to avoid mobilization. Ukrainians often use the term “ukhyliant” for such men.
“To them, these people are not even human beings. They are people who have their own opinions and are ready to take control of their own lives. Such people are simply driven out of Ukraine. They are forced to flee their own country,” he said.
If they are lucky enough to get out alive…
