Organiser of protests against ex-defence minister Fedorov's dismissal detained, social media compromised
Vitalii Kamka, administrator of a Telegram chat coordinating protests over former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov's dismissal, was detained in Kyiv; a message he denies writing appeared under his name before the chat was deleted.
A Telegram chat used to coordinate protests against the dismissal of former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has been deleted following the detention of its administrator, Vitalii Kamka, who also goes by the pseudonym Vitalii Pavuk, human rights centre ZMINA reports.
The chat's disappearance on 7 August was first noted publicly by fellow organiser Arkadii Petrosian during a protest at Ivan Franko Square in Kyiv. Later that day, posts on Threads reported the administrator's detention, which was also confirmed to ZMINA by protest participant Serhii Motrenko, who had been in contact with Kamka.
Kamka ran the Protest Telegram chat, which had around 770 members and served as a coordination point for regular demonstration participants. After 18:00 on 7 August, a message appeared under Pavuk's account saying the author had reconsidered his position overnight and decided to serve in the Armed Forces, urging others to do the same. The chat was deleted shortly afterward.
However, Kamka told another protest participant that he had not written the message and had not deleted the chat himself. He alleges that following his detention, an investigator gained access to his account, posted the message and removed the chat.
Circumstances of the detention
Kamka said on social media that police stopped him on 7 August while he was riding a motorcycle, and a records check showed he was listed as absent without leave. He was handcuffed and taken to a Military Law Enforcement Service unit in Bila Tserkva, where he says he was handcuffed to a bed. He posted photos and videos of himself in handcuffs on Instagram and Threads.
As of 8 August, Kamka said he remained in Bila Tserkva pending transfer to Cherkasy to resume military service. Later that day, Motrenko shared with ZMINA a recording of a conversation in which Kamka confirmed he had already been moved to Cherkasy and was at military unit A7017. He said he was generally treated adequately and had not faced physical violence, though he had been kept in handcuffs for extended periods during the earlier stages of his detention. ZMINA said it has not yet established how long the restraints were used or the exact grounds cited for them.
