Taken by Draft Officers. Found Dead in a Field: The Case of Mykola Novorynskyi, 55
This is Mykola Novorynskyi. He was 55 years old. Yesterday, he was laid to rest.
On October 15, draft officers reportedly forcibly took him to a Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) in Zvenyhorodka, Ternopil Oblast, approximately 140 kilometers from his home.
He had a disability due to severe visual impairment. Yet that did not stop the recruitment officers.
According to eyewitnesses, Mykola suffered an epileptic seizure while at the recruitment center.
Despite his condition, he underwent a military medical examination, was declared fit for military service, and was assigned to an assault brigade. According to available reports, the brigade refused to accept him.
The TCC claims that he was subsequently released and dropped off at an unspecified location.
That was the last time he was seen alive.
His family searched for him for nearly two months.
Eventually, his body was discovered in a field near the village of Konyukhy, approximately 120 kilometers from his home.
His daughter, Maria Bokhna, told journalists that a local resident driving a tractor spotted a body lying in the field, behind a former collective farm facility.
"The man called my father's brother, and together they contacted the police," she said.
What the family learned about the condition of his body raised even more disturbing questions.
"I asked my uncle whether there were any signs that my father had been beaten. He told me that his entire face was covered in blood," Maria recalled.
"My father had no shoes on. His white sneakers were missing. His bank cards were gone, too."
But another detail was particularly troubling.
"According to my uncle, my father's body did not look as though it had been lying in that field for two weeks. There were no visible signs of decomposition," she added.
A 55-year-old man with a disability was reportedly forcibly taken by military recruitment officers, declared fit for combat duty despite serious health problems, and later found dead in a field far from home.
His family is now left with devastating questions.
What happened to Mykola Novorynskyi after he was taken to the recruitment center? Who was responsible for his safety? And how did a man who was supposedly released end up dead in a field, more than 100 kilometers from his home?
His death demands a thorough, independent investigation — and answers.
Mike
