On December 19, 2024, in Vyshhorod, people in military uniforms and police officers stopped a vehicle and, according to video from a neighboring building, sprayed gas through the gaps between the doors, then set it on fire. The car's roof burst into flames. According to eyewitnesses, one of the uniformed individuals laughed loudly.
On April 8, 2025 — nearly four months later — Sergiy Onopriyenko, deputy head of the Vyshhorod TCC, came to a session of a temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada and reported the results of an internal investigation.
"Military personnel were reminded of their service obligations. There was no arson on our part."
Sergiy Onopriyenko, deputy head of the Vyshhorod TCC, session of the temporary investigative commission, April 8, 2025
Two Investigations — Two Conclusions
When the video spread in December, the reaction was swift and harsh — but only from police and government. The National Police of Kyiv region suspended two involved officers on the day of the incident and launched a service investigation. As a result, seven police officers were brought to disciplinary responsibility.
First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk ordered a separate departmental investigation. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called such cases "shameful" in the Verkhovna Rada. The Defense Ministry stated: "Such actions are unacceptable and undermine trust in the Armed Forces."
The Vyshhorod TCC conducted its own investigation and found nothing warranting punishment. The center's version: military personnel merely assisted police, and the fire on the roof did not result from their actions — allegedly the driver himself ignited the gas to avoid inhaling it.
The Driver Who Was "Smoked Out" Faces Criminal Prosecution
The context the TCC presents as justification: the driver was wanted for draft evasion, with two criminal cases opened against him. The man himself stated after the incident that he did not want publicity and considers what happened an accident — he does not plan to file complaints.
However, the legal status of the driver does not answer the question of whether military personnel had the right to use gas and fire against a locked vehicle. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated clearly in February 2025 at the same temporary investigative commission: the TCC has no authority to detain or hold persons — this confirms that "assisting police" with a tear gas canister was inherently beyond the TCC's competence.
What Remained Unanswered
The TCC's internal investigation did not publish any protocols or explanatory notes from the involved military personnel. The Defense Ministry did not report how Havryliuk's departmental investigation concluded. The temporary investigative commission received only an oral statement from Onopriyenko.
- Police punished their own — disciplinarily, without criminal proceedings.
- The TCC punished no one — merely "reminded" them.
- The Defense Ministry announced an investigation in December, but its conclusions did not appear publicly.
- The number of complaints about TCC actions in 2025 increased 333 times compared to 2022 — to over 6,100 appeals to the ombudsman.
If the temporary investigative commission does not demand written conclusions from the Defense Ministry regarding the departmental investigation from December 2024, the formula "reminded about obligations" will become a precedent: the TCC's internal investigation will de facto close a matter that the minister called unacceptable.
