The Ministry of Defense explained what representatives of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers can and cannot do during an air raid alert

Representatives of the territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCCs and SСs) are not authorized to stop, hold or detain citizens in public places or prevent them from proceeding to a shelter during an air raid. This is stated in the response of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to Oleksii Honcharenko, Head of the Verkhovna Rada's Temporary Investigative Commission, which UNN has reviewed.

At the same time, the legislation does not separately require TCC personnel to immediately stop notification efforts or the verification of military registration documents once inside shelters.

Details

The Ministry of Defense noted that the procedure for actions by TCC and SS notification groups during the "Air Raid Alert" signal is regulated by legislation in the areas of civil protection, military service and the performance of service duties by military personnel. At the same time, there are no separate regulatory acts of the Ministry of Defense, orders or directives of the Ministry of Defense or the General Staff that would establish a special algorithm for the conduct of TCC notification groups in public places directly during an air raid.

The ministry reminded that, in accordance with the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine, ensuring citizens' safety and protecting people from the consequences of emergencies, military actions or an air attack is a priority duty.

"The implementation of protective measures in response to civil protection signals is mandatory for all persons located on the territory of Ukraine," the Defense Ministry's response states.

The ministry separately emphasized that military personnel who are members of TCC and SS notification groups are not authorized to prevent people from proceeding to a safe place.

"The legislation does not grant military personnel who are members of TCC and SS notification groups the authority to stop, hold or detain citizens in public places or prevent them from proceeding to a shelter while the \"Air Raid Alert\" signal is in effect," the relevant ministry stated.

At the same time, the ministry drew attention to another legal detail: the current legislation contains no special provision requiring TCC and SS representatives, after an alert is announced, to immediately stop notifying citizens or checking military registration documents if such actions are already taking place inside a shelter or another protective structure.

It follows that  the work of notification groups during an air raid must be carried out in compliance with the requirements of legislation in the areas of civil protection, military service and mobilization, while the protection of people's lives and health and compliance with established safety rules must remain the priority.

We remind you

As UNN reported, due to Russian strikes on TCCs and SSs, their work will be reformatted to ensure the safety of personnel and visitors. Possible options include dispersing recruitment office personnel, remote services and expanded digitalization.