A Telegram chat organizing protests against Fedorov’s resignation was deleted after the administrator was detained
9 August 12:14
A Telegram chat used to coordinate protests against the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov disappeared after the arrest of its administrator, Vitalii Kamka. This was reported by the ZMINA Human Rights Center, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Arkady Petrosyan, one of the organizers, announced the chat’s removal on August 7 during a rally on Ivan Franko Square.
Later that day, posts appeared on Threads regarding the arrest of the channel’s administrator.
This information was also confirmed in a comment to ZMINA by protest participant Serhiy Motrenko, who had been in contact with Kamka.
According to him, Kamka uses the pseudonym Vitaliy Pavuk on social media. He administered the Telegram chat “Protest,” which had about 770 participants and was used to coordinate people who regularly joined the protests.
Chat participants report that after 6:00 p.m. on August 7, a message appeared in the “Protest” chat on behalf of Pavuk with the following content:
“I didn’t sleep all night. I had time to reflect. We’re doing the wrong thing. I’ve made my decision. I will serve the state in the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Let’s stand united! Ukraine above all!”
After the message was posted, the chat was deleted from the network.
At the same time, Kamka claims that he did not write this message himself and did not delete the chat. He stated this, in particular, in response to a message from another protest participant.
Kamka claims that after his arrest, an investigator gained access to his Telegram account, wrote the last message, and deleted the chat.
For his part, Serhiy Motrenko, who, according to him, often communicated with Kamka during the protests, noted in a comment to ZMINA that the message mentioned above seemed atypical for Kamka and his previous communication style. At the same time, Motrenko emphasized that he cannot know for certain under what circumstances the message was written.
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He shared part of his correspondence with Kamka with ZMINA.
Kamka himself told his social media followers that on August 7, police officers stopped him while he was riding his motorcycle. The officers checked his information and determined that he was classified as having deserted his unit (SZCH).
After that, the man was taken in handcuffs to Bila Tserkva. Kamka claims that once at the Bila Tserkva Regional Department of the Military Law Enforcement Service, he was handcuffed to a bed.
On his Instagram and Threads accounts, Kamka posted videos and photos of himself in handcuffs.
As of August 8, he reported that he was in Bila Tserkva and would subsequently be transported to Cherkasy to resume his military service.
Later on August 8, Serhiy Motrenko provided ZMINA with a recording of his conversation with Kamka. In it, Kamka stated that he had already been transported to Cherkasy and was currently at military unit A7017. According to him, he is generally being treated fairly and has not been subjected to physical violence; however, during the earlier stages of his transport and while in custody, he was handcuffed for an extended period of time.
At the same time, ZMINA has not yet been able to determine how long Kamka was restrained to the bed or what exactly served as the basis for using handcuffs. ZMINA’s sources have no confirmed information as to whether the man resisted or posed a danger to himself or others.
The law permits military police officers to use handcuffs during the arrest, transport, or detention of a person under certain circumstances—specifically in cases of resistance, attempted escape, assault, or the risk of harm to oneself or others. Therefore, the specific reason for using handcuffs and the duration of such restraint remain key factors in assessing this incident.
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