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Thursday, 20 March
society

"I will fight and bite": a journalist from Ternopil refused to mobilize and "gave battle" to the CCK

Ternopil journalist, editor-in-chief of the local online publication Politerno Andriy Shchesnyak was outraged by the detention by representatives of the CCK and categorically refused to mobilize and undergo the VLK, promising that he would "fight and bite," but would not go to the training ground.

He wrote about this on his Facebook page.

"Nadal and Zyubanenko have decided to shove me into the CCC, they will try, most likely, to fake the VLK conclusion. I refuse the VLK, so if they try to take me to the training ground in the morning, it means that they did fake the VLK conclusion and this is a crime! I will fight and bite and of course I will not go anywhere, unless they take me out by force...", Shchesniak wrote.

The Ternopil Regional CCC explained Shchesnyak's detention by saying that he was wanted as a violator of military registration rules and did not appear at the territorial recruitment and social support center after being personally served with a summons for signature back in 2024.

"Citizen A. Shchesnyak positions himself as a representative of one of the religious communities that professes pacifist beliefs. At the same time, the current legislation, in particular the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Training and Mobilization", does not provide for exemption from mobilization on religious grounds," the CCK noted.

The CCC also recalled that the VLK recognized the journalist as fit for service and since he was not entitled to a deferment or reservation, he was mobilized in the general order.

"Journalistic activity is not a reason for avoiding military service. A. Shchesniak is related to the media sphere and journalism, at the same time, using the status of a journalist is not a legal reason for evading mobilization," the CCK concluded.

Later, a message appeared on Szczesnyak's page that he had been taken to an unknown destination, and his belongings and phone had never been returned.

As a reminder, in 2024, Andriy Shchesnyak announced that he was being monitored and undercover investigative actions. He linked the fact of the monitoring to his publications published in November 2023 regarding the head of the regional police, Serhiy Zyubanenko.

Previously, Ukrainian composer, arranger, and singer Borys Sevastyanov told his story of a meeting with representatives of the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCK and SP).