TRCs During an Air Raid Alert: Clarification by the Ministry of Defence

Must representatives of territorial recruitment and social support centres (TRCs) stop working once an air raid alert is announced? May they check military registration documents in a shelter?

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has given an official answer to these questions.

The Ministry’s letter states that the law gives servicemen of TRC notification teams no powers to stop, hold or detain people in public places or to prevent them from making their way to a shelter during the “Air Raid Alert” signal.

There is, however, an important nuance: current law contains no separate rule requiring TRC representatives to stop notification activities or the checking of military registration documents inside shelters or civil protection structures immediately after the “Air Raid Alert” signal is announced.

In other words, the announcement of an air raid alert does not in itself mean that TRC notification teams automatically stop their activities.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defence stresses that protecting human life and health comes first and states expressly that notification teams must operate during an air raid alert taking mandatory account of the safety requirements established for the public and for servicemen.

So:

• preventing a person from making their way to a shelter – the law provides no such powers;
• automatically stopping notification activities once an alert is announced – the law does not impose such a duty either;
• checking military registration documents may continue inside a shelter, in compliance with the law in force.

What to do if you are stopped during an alert

• Your safety comes first. According to the Ministry of Defence letter, the law gives no powers to stop or hold people who are making their way to a shelter.
• Note the time, place and circumstances. If there are witnesses nearby, ask for their contact details.
• If you are taken to a TRC or asked to sign documents, read them carefully and state in writing what you disagree with.
• Decisions, actions or inaction of a TRC can be challenged – see Disputes with the territorial recruitment centre.

See also: Denied Entry to a Shelter During an Air Raid Alert, Mobilisation in Ukraine, Deferral from Mobilisation in 2026.

The full text of the Ministry of Defence’s official reply (in Ukrainian) is reproduced below.