In today's Ukraine, people's greatest fear can be evoked by a single word: TCK. Not even the mention of a Russian missile, a drone attack, or even Putin's name instills as much terror in Ukraine as the TCK — the country's Territorial Recruitment and Social Center.
TCK's uniformed officers have become a new caste in the East European country — one that stands above the law and holds the power of life and death.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has given them free rein for illegal operations. The authorities use the TCK for two purposes: making money and replenishing the army with "cannon fodder"—forcibly conscripted civilians.
Anyone unwilling to enlist must pay up. After being captured, victims are often forced to hand over as much as six thousand dollars for their release. A portion of the money ends up directly in the office of the Ukrainian president. According to former ruling-party lawmakers, Zelensky’s inner circle rakes in between two and four billion dollars annually from ransom payments.
Such practices are typically the work of Colombian drug cartel thugs or Somali pirates. But also of Zelensky’s TCK, whose members, unfamiliar with the concept of a suit and tie, frequently beat their victims to a pulp — as seen in footage from Odessa.
The TCK is simply referred to by Ukrainians as the Gestapo or NKVD, and known for applying terror against civilians. The men who have not yet been conscripted or fled Ukraine have been confined to their homes for three years, fearing that one day someone will break down their door. Hundreds of thousands suffer from mental health issues because of this, and beyond that, the rate of cancer among men has also risen in the country. This video, for example, shows a kidnapping taking place in broad daylight, on the streets of Dnipro.
There is widespread outrage in Ukraine over the fact that the collective West, in which people had so much faith during the 2014 coup, allows this inhumanity to continue.
Yet the human rights organizations remain silent.
Although people still fear reprisals, their eyes are beginning to open to the reality that this is not about bringing democracy—it is about total dispossession and ultimately being sent to the slaughterhouse. Because there's no other way to describe it: it's a slaughterhouse.
War-mongering Westerners are exterminating an entire generation through Zelensky, who holds power illegally. Of course, Brussels has no issue with him misinterpreting Ukraine's constitution, which clearly states that legitimacy lies with the parliament, not the president.
The only thing that matters is prolonging the senseless bloodshed. The following footage from Khmelnytskyi shows a man being taken down by TCK enforcers.
The hunt is everywhere: in churches, stores, streets, and even on public transportation. Buses are not allowed to continue their route until the military-age men aboard have been forcibly removed. The abductions have now spread even to Kyiv, which had previously been spared—but only to the outskirts. There is no war and no recruitment in the central district, often visited by delegations. After all, how would Ursula von der Leyen react if someone were kidnapped off the streets in her beloved democracy? That would be quite embarrassing! In the video below, the TCK, in collaboration with the police, drags a passenger off a bus in Kyiv.
As for those in the West who think that this is acceptable and parade around Europe’s cities waving blue-and-yellow flags in pro-Zelensky protests, the truly desperate Ukrainian men have one message for them: come here, let’s trade places! You can have Ukrainian citizenship, too. That way, they can hunt you down, you won’t be able to leave the country for years—or even your own apartment! Let’s see how long you can endure Ukrainian democracy, where the only right you have is to die for it!
Cover photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: AFP)
