Vitalii Kamka was stopped on August 7 in Kyiv's Podilskyi district while riding a motorcycle on the sidewalk. Kyiv police press secretary Anna Strashko said that during a document check, it was determined that he was listed as a serviceman who had left his unit without authorization.
According to Strashko, Kamka voluntarily agreed to report to the Military Law Enforcement Service, and police did not use force against him or take his phone. The activist himself claims that he was taken to Bila Tserkva in handcuffs and strapped to a bed at the local Military Law Enforcement Service office. He was later transferred to Cherkasy, where he is now at one of the military units.
Shortly after Kamka's detention, a message appeared in the "Protest" chat under his name saying that protest participants were acting incorrectly and that he had decided to return to military service. The chat was then deleted. Kamka, contacting one of the protest participants, said he did not publish that message or delete the chat — according to him, an investigator gained access to his Telegram account. Protest participant Serhii Motrenko told the ZMINA Human Rights Center that the message was uncharacteristic of the activist's communication style.
The protests began in Ukrainian cities on July 16 after Fedorov was not reappointed as defense minister when the new government was formed. Participants demand that he be reinstated as head of the Defense Ministry.