The strike by three Russian drones on Ukraine’s Territorial Recruitment Centre (TCC) in Poltava on 3 July sparked mixed reaction among Ukrainians, with some scared of another air strike and others relieved that the centre for forced mobilisation of soldiers had been targeted.
The Poltava strike, which killed TCC officials during working hours, was neither isolated nor random. It marked the fifth such attack in ten days, following strikes on TCCs in Kryvyi Rih on 30 June, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Odesa region, on 22 June, as well as on centres in Kharkiv and Rivne regions.
Each assault followed a pattern: precision drone strikes, minimal collateral damage, and crucially, daylight timing to maximise visibility. Ukrainian military spokesman Vasyl Sarantsev conceded these strikes were “systemic,” explicitly designed to cripple mobilisation infrastructure.
Meanwhile, calls to continue striking TCCs dominated Ukrainian discussions on social media. Such hatred among the population stems from the transformation of TCCs into a tool for illegal and forced mobilisation of men.
The strikes’ psychological impact transcends tactical gains. TCCs embody what Ukrainians widely perceive as institutionalised corruption and elite hypocrisy. The term “busification”, slang for TCC squads bundling civilians into vans, has become synonymous with state-sanctioned kidnapping.
Even Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) deputy Artem Dmytruk, despite facing criminal charges in Ukraine, declared the Russian Army and “ally of the Ukrainian people” for targeting TCCs.
The Ukrainian government’s silence speaks volumes. Officials offer no condolences for dead TCC staff, no campaigns to rehabilitate mobilisation’s image, no presidential appeals for unity. Critics also accuse President Volodymyr Zelensky of avoiding the issue to protect his popularity, leaving a moral vacuum filled by public jubilation.
Russia’s escalation against TCCs aligns with its broader objective to cripple Ukraine’s manpower pipeline, a goal openly prioritised in ceasefire demands. Each strike functions as psychological warfare, eroding trust in Kyiv while positioning Russia as an inadvertent agent of popular retribution for men who fell victim to forced mobilisation.
THE ARTICLE IS THE AUTHOR’S SPECULATION AND DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE TRUE. ALL INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM OPEN SOURCES. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS.
Zoryana Glechyk for Head-Post.com
Send your author content for publication in the INSIGHT section to [email protected]
