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National Police of Ukraine

The National Police of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Націона́льна полі́ція Украї́ни, romanized: Natsionálʹna polítsiya Ukrayíny, IPA: [nɐt͡s⁽ʲ⁾ioˈnɑlʲnɐ poˈl⁽ʲ⁾it͡s⁽ʲ⁾ijɐ ʊkrɐˈjinɪ]; abbr. НПУ, NPU), often simply referred to as the Politsiia (Поліція, 'Police'), is the national, and only, police service of Ukraine. It was formed on 3 July 2015, as part of the post-Euromaidan reforms launched by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, to replace Ukraine's previous national police service, the Militsiya.[4][5] On 7 November 2015, all the remaining militsiya were labelled "temporary acting" members of the National Police.[4]

National Police of Ukraine
Національна поліція України
Patch of the National Police
Patch of the National Police
Emblem of the National Police
Emblem of the National Police
Badge of the National Police
Badge of the National Police
Flag of the National Police
Flag of the National Police
Common namePolice of Ukraine
AbbreviationNPU
MottoTo serve and protect
(Служити та захищати)
Agency overview
FormedJuly 3, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-07-03)
Preceding agency
  • Militsiya (starting 1917, on the west since joining the USSR in 1939-1940, in Zakarpatye since 1944 or 1945, the entire Ukraine in 1945-2015)
Employees130,000
  • 119,000 police officers
  • 11,000 civil personnel
Annual budget₴35.6 billion (2022)
Jurisdictional structure
National agencyUkraine
Operations jurisdictionUkraine
Size603,629 km2
Population44 million (approx.)
Governing bodyGovernment of Ukraine
Constituting instrument
  • Law on "National Police"
General nature
Operational structure
Overseen byMinistry of Internal Affairs
Headquarters10, Academician Bohomolets
str., Kyiv, Ukraine[1]
Agency executive
Facilities
Patrol carsToyota Prius
Hyundai Sonata
Renault Duster
Mitsubishi Outlander
Škoda Rapid
ZAZ Vida
Lada 110
VAZ-21099
UAZ Patriot
Lada Niva
VAZ 2107
ZAZ Forza
VAZ-2113
Fiat Tipo
VAZ-2114
VAZ-2115
Notables
Anniversary
  • Police Day, July 4[3]
Website
Official website

The agency is overseen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.[6]

History

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Prior to 3 July 2015, law enforcement in Ukraine was carried out directly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the militsiya. Plans to reform the ministry, which was widely known to be corrupt, had been advocated by various governments and parties, but these plans were never realised.[5][7]

In the aftermath of the 2013–2014 Euromaidan movement and subsequent revolution, the need for reform was acknowledged by all parties. Parliamentary elections were held in October 2014, after which all five of the parties that formed the governing coalition pledged to reform the ministry and create a new national police service.[8]

As part of the reforms, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, presented plans to reduce the number of police officers in Ukraine to 160,000 by the end of 2015.[9] The reform plans started with the combination of the ministry's current State Auto Inspection (DAI) and the patrol service in the country's capital Kyiv in summer 2015.[10][11] This new police patrol received funding from various countries.[12] 2,000 new policemen and women, picked from 33,000 applicants, were recruited to initiate the new service in Kyiv. Officers were trained in the North American style by police officers from the United States and Canada.[13]

 
23 August 2015 launch of the new patrol police in Lviv.

Upon the launch of Kyiv's new patrol police on 4 July 2015, the militsiya ceased all patrolling but continued working at precincts and administrative offices.[14][12][15] After that the new police patrol was rolled out across Ukraine.[12] The organisation was formally established as the National Police on 2 September 2015.[6] By late September 2015, 2,000 new constables were on duty in Kyiv, 800 were on duty in Kharkiv and 1,700 were on duty in the cities of Odesa and Lviv.[16][14] At this point, the militsiya was 152,000 officers strong, and continued to handle most policing across Ukraine.[17] The basic salary of the new police force (almost $400 a month) is about three times as much the basic salary of the former militsiya; an attempt to decrease corruption.[18]

The new National Police officially replaced the old militsiya on 7 November 2015.[4][19] On that day, the remaining militsiya were labelled "temporarily acting" members of the National Police.[4] The change allowed for them to become members of the National Police after "integrity checks", but they were only eligible if they met the age criteria and went through retraining.[4][20] This transition period ended on 20 October 2016.[21] In this transition period 26% of police commanders were dismissed and 4,400 policemen and policewomen demoted and the same number of people promoted.[21]

The NPU was assisted by the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine between 2017 and 2022 through the PRAVO Police Programme, implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), in an effort to modernize Ukrainian law enforcement to European standards.[22][23]

 
Policeman by a destroyed Renault Duster police car during the Battle of Kharkiv at the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 14 February 2022, the National Police was transferred to combat alert, as a response to the Russian military buildup and threat of the invasion.[24] The National Police and its tactical unit Rapid Operational Response Unit directly participated in hostilities against the invading Russian Armed Forces at the Kyiv offensive.[25] As the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine progressed, the National Police helped in the war effort by maintaining law and order in Ukrainian-controlled areas, escorting prisoners, operating checkpoints, capturing infiltrators and detaining prisoners of war.[26][27] By 1 March, 17 policemen were killed, 50 injured and 2 missing in action.[27]

In February 2023, the MIA ordered the raising of 8 new assault brigades to support the Ukrainian war effort, one of those new brigades, the Liut Brigade, is the only one so far made up of officers, NCOs and constables of the NPU's Special Police. In 2024, three additional brigades were added as directly reporting under NPU Headquarters.

Terminology

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According to Professor Oleksandr Ponomariv of the Kyiv University's Institute of Journalism, the correct Ukrainian language term for a police officer is 'politsiyant' (поліціянт). This is in contrast to the term 'politseysky' (поліцейський), a loan word from the Russian language, commonly used to refer to an officer of the National Police.

 
Bicycle police in Lviv

Ranks are rarely used by the public when addressing police officers in Ukraine; it is more common to hear the term Pan (Пан) (female - Pani (Пані) - Ukrainian for mister/miss - used to refer to police officers. Qualifying terms such as 'ofitser' (офіцер) or 'politseiskyi' (поліцейський) may also be used in conjunction with these forms of address.

Structure and branches

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The National Police is divided into a number of different services. Each force has internal subdivisions. This leaves the police service with a large number of specialised branches which can more specifically target certain types of crime and apply more expert knowledge in the investigation of cases relating to their area of policing. In addition to these specific groups, all police forces retain a majority of officers for the purpose of patrol duty and general law enforcement.

The police contains the following subdivisions:[28]

  • Criminal Police (Кримінальна поліція) – investigation and prevention of serious and violent crime in Ukraine
    • Department in the fight against drug-related crime
    • Department of Cyber Police (Кіберполіція, Департамент кіберполіції) – fighting against cyber crimes
    • Department of Economic Security
  • Department of Patrol Police (Патрульна поліція) – general law enforcement operations, traffic policing and patrol duty (includes riot police divisions)
    • number of municipal administrations
  • Department of Police Security (Поліція охорони) – Successor to the State Security Service (nothing to do with the State Security Administration)

In addition, the following special units exist:

  • Special Police (Спеціальна поліція) – Tasked with keeping order in areas with special status and/or affected by natural or ecological disaster.
  • Rapid Operational Response Unit (KORD) (Корпус Оперативно-Раптової Дії) – Tactical response unit, tasked with resolution of stand-off situations involving hostages and/or heavily armed suspects. Also tasked with providing a tactical support function to other divisional officers.
  • Pre-trial Investigative Services (Органи досудового розслідування) – Representatives of the National Investigative Bureau, Tax Authorities and Security Services, tasked with investigating crime.

Shoulder patches of the regional police subdivisions

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Territorial force Date of formation
Oblast / Municipality Police force
  City of Kyiv   Kyiv Patrol Police 4 July 2015[29]
  City of Lviv   Lviv Patrol Police 23 August 2015[30]
  City of Odesa   Odesa Patrol Police 25 August 2015[31]
  City of Kharkiv   Kharkiv Patrol Police 26 September 2015[16]
  Kyiv Oblast   Kyiv Oblast Patrol Police 7 October 2015[32]
  City of Uzhhorod   Uzhhorod Patrol Police 29 November 2015[33]
  City of Mukacheve   Mukacheve Patrol Police 29 November 2015[33]
  City of Mykolaiv   Mykolaiv Patrol Police 6 December 2015[34][35]
  City of Lutsk   Lutsk Patrol Police 19 December 2015[36]
  City of Khmelnytskyi   Khmelnytskyi Patrol Police 26 December 2015[37]
  City of Dnipro   Dnipro Patrol Police 17 January 2016[38]
  City of Ivano-Frankivsk   Ivano-Frankivsk Patrol Police 30 January 2016[39]
  City of Kherson   Kherson Patrol Police 8 February 2016[40]
  City of Chernihiv   Chernihiv Patrol Police 19 February 2016[41]
  City of Vinnytsia   Vinnytsia Patrol Police 22 February 2016[42]
  City of Kremenchuk   Kremenchuk Patrol Police 27 February 2016[43]
  City of Cherkasy   Cherkasy Patrol Police 1 March 2016[44]
  City of Poltava   Poltava Patrol Police 5 March 2016[45]
  City of Ternopil   Ternopil Patrol Police 12 March 2016[46]
  City of Zhytomyr   Zhytomyr Patrol Police 22 March 2016[47]
  City of Boryspil   Boryspil Patrol Police 24 March 2016[48]
  City of Chernivtsi   Chernivtsi Patrol Police 27 March 2016[49]
  City of Zaporizhia   Zaporizhia Patrol Police 16 April 2016[50]
  City of Rivne   Rivne Patrol Police 19 April 2016[51]
  City of Kropyvnytskyi   Kropyvnytskyi Patrol Police 28 April 2016[52]
  City of Sumy   Sumy Patrol Police 12 May 2016[53]
  City of Kramatorsk   Kramatorsk Patrol Police 14 May 2016[54]
  City of Sloviansk   Sloviansk Patrol Police 14 May 2016[54]
  City of Kryvyi Rih   Kryvyi Rih Patrol Police 19 May 2016[55]
  Sievierodonetsk   Sievierodonetsk Patrol Police 22 May 2016[56]
  Lysychansk   Lysychansk Patrol Police 22 May 2016[56]
  Rubizhne   Rubizhne Patrol Police 22 May 2016[56]
  Mariupol   Mariupol Patrol Police 30 May 2016[57]

Rank hierarchy

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Officers

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Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers
Staff officers Supervisory officers Senior officers
  Ukraine No equivalent
                    
First division general
Генерал поліції 1-го рангу 		Second division general
Генерал поліції 2-го рангу 		Third division general
Генерал поліції 3-го рангу 		Colonel
Полковник поліції 		Lieutenant colonel
Підполковник поліції 		Major
Майор поліції 		Captain
Капітан поліції 		Senior lieutenant
Старший лейтенант поліції 		Lieutenant
Лейтенант поліції 		Junior lieutenant
Молодший лейтенант поліції

Junior officers

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Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
Junior officers
  Ukraine No equivalent
       No equivalent  
Staff sergeant
Старший сержант 		Sergeant
Сержант 		Corporal
junior sergeant
Капрал 		Constable
police officer
Рядовий поліції

Equipment

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Officers wear a camera that is constantly monitoring their performances.[14] The resulting videos are posted on social media and broadcast on a reality TV show.[14]

Vehicles

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Picture Make and model Country of origin Use Quantity Notes
  Fiat Tipo  
Italy 		Patrol Car 20 Bought for Kyiv security police
  Hyundai Sonata  
South Korea 		Patrol car 110 Highway patrol car.
Former taxis operated under the SkyTaxi brand by Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport. Owned by the state and transferred to the police as surplus to SkyTaxi's requirements.
  Isuzu D-Max  
Japan 		Patrol car 38 Procured for the police in the Western Ukrainian region of Volyn.
  Lada Niva  
Russia 		Patrol car 9 Were bought by Poltava Police in 2016.[58]
  Mitsubishi Outlander  
Japan 		Patrol car 635 Were bought by in 2017.
  Peugeot 301  
France 		Patrol car
  Raketa-Futong FT 150  
China
 
Ukraine 		Police motorcycle
  Renault Dokker  
Morocco 		Police van 192 Badged as Renault and based on the Dacia Dokker. Assembled in Morocco.
  Renault Duster  
Romania 		Patrol car 140+ Badged as Renault and based on the Dacia Duster. Assembled in Romania.[59]
  Renault Kangoo  
France 		Police van
  Robinson R44  
United States 		Helicopter 1 Is used to maintain public order during mass events
  Škoda Rapid  
Czech Republic
 
Ukraine 		Patrol car 400 First cars delivered in 2018. Assembled in Ukraine.
  Toyota Prius  
Japan 		Patrol car 1,568 General purpose patrol car.
Supplied by Japan in return for Ukrainian emissions permits under the Kyoto Protocol.
  UAZ Patriot  
Russia 		Patrol car >20 Were bought before 2014 by former Ukrainian Militsya[60]
  Volkswagen Crafter  
Germany 		Police van
  Volkswagen Jetta  
Germany 		Patrol car bought in 2019
  ZAZ Forza  
China
 
Ukraine 		Patrol car
  ZAZ Vida  
United States of America
 
Ukraine
 
South Korea 		Patrol car

Police Day

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A corps of drums from the National Police.

National Police Day (День Націона́льної полі́ції, Denʹ Nacionálʹnoyi políciyi, Ukrainian pronunciation: [dɛnʲ nɐt͡s⁽ʲ⁾ioˈnɑlʲnoji poˈl⁽ʲ⁾it͡s⁽ʲ⁾iji]) on 4 July[61] is the professional holiday of the Ukrainian Police. It commemorates the suspension of law enforcement duties by the Militsiya and the establishment of the National Police of Ukraine. It also coincides with the first oath of patrol policemen on Kyiv's Sofia Square. The holiday was introduced and first celebrated on 4 August 2015 and was celebrated on that day ever since until President Petro Poroshenko, by decree on 4 April 2018, declared that the holiday should be celebrated annually on 4 July and become a national holiday.[62]

Controversies

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Ukrayinska Pravda collected (from open sources) 64 crimes allegedly committed by Ukrainian police officers from 1 January 2020 until 30 May 2020.[63] Cases ranged from extortion to rape to killings.[63]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Contact Information". National Police of Ukraine.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ (in Ukrainian) Storming of a supermarket in Mariupol: the head of the National Police threatened with immediate punishment, Ukrayinska Pravda (16 April 2020)
  3. ^ Ukraine marks National Police Day on July 4, UNIAN (4 July 2018)
  4. ^ a b c d e "Law on national police enacted in Ukraine". Interfax-Ukraine. 7 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Ukraine launches Western-style police force to set a marker for reform". Yahoo News. Reuters. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b National Police established in Ukraine, Interfax Ukraine (2 September 2015)
  7. ^ "In Ukraine, they want to create 5 police departments instead of the militsiya" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  8. ^ Hankevych, Roman (21 November 2014). "Five parties signed the coalition agreement at night" (in Ukrainian). Zahid.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Аваков хоче скоротити кількість міліціонерів до 160 тисяч" [Avakov wants to reduce the number of police officers to 160 thousand]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  10. ^ "Аваков: Незабаром у Києві не буде ДАІ – хто готовий бути патрульним?" [Avakov: Soon there will be no traffic police in Kyiv - who is ready to be a patrolman?]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 24 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Kiev - Ukraine Launches Western-Style Police Force To Set A Marker For Reform". www.vosizneias.com. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Ukraine tackles graft with new US-style police force". Interaksyon. Agence France-Presse. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Ukraine police get new American-style uniforms".
  14. ^ a b c d "New-style police have key role in Ukraine". BBC News. 25 September 2015.
  15. ^ Gessen, Masha (8 September 2015). "The Cops Who Would Save a Country". Foreign Policy.
  16. ^ a b High hopes in Kharkiv as new police patrol officers sworn in, Ukraine Today (26 September 2015)
  17. ^ "Reform Watch". Kyiv Post. 1 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Ukraine Pins Hopes for Change on Fresh-Faced Police Recruits". New York Times. 6 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Avakov told how the police will police". Korrespondent.net (in Ukrainian). 4 November 2015.
  20. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (3 September 2015). "Talent from Tbilisi". Politico.
  21. ^ a b "Police attestation completed, 26% of police commanders dismissed". Interfax-Ukraine. 20 October 2016.
  22. ^ "PRAVO Police Programme closes its activities in Ukraine – EU NEIGHBOURS east".
  23. ^ "EU and UNOPS Help Ukrainian Police Fight Domestic Violence | United Nations in Ukraine".
  24. ^ "National Police transferred to combat alert in Ukraine". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  25. ^ "Rapid Operational Response Unit destroys Russian tanks in the Kyiv region's Brovary district". Ukrayinska Pravda. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Rada gives National Police additional powers under martial law". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Since start of Russia's invasion 17 Ukrainian policemen killed, 50 injured – National Police of Ukraine". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  28. ^ National Police structure. Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine). 18 March 2016
  29. ^ Wesolowsky, Tony (4 August 2015). "A Force For Change: Kyiv's New Cops". Radio Free Europe.
  30. ^ "Brand new police start work in Lviv". unian.info. 23 August 2015.
  31. ^ "President launched patrol police in Odesa: New police in Ukraine is a symbol of revolutionary reforms". president.gov.ua. 25 August 2015.[dead link‍]
  32. ^ "National Police of Ukraine". Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  33. ^ a b "МВД Украины". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  34. ^ "Завтра днем в Николаеве примут присягу 480 новых патрульных полицейских" [Tomorrow afternoon 480 new patrol policemen will take the oath in Mykolaiv]. Преступности НЕТ. 5 December 2015.
  35. ^ "У Миколаєві стартувала поліція, - Аваков" [Police started in Mykolaiv, Avakov]. espreso.tv. 6 December 2015.
  36. ^ "Just a moment". Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  37. ^ "В Хмельницком начала работу патрульная полиция" [The patrol police began work in Khmelnytsky]. Korrespondent.net. 26 December 2015.
  38. ^ "У Дніпропетровську 950 патрульних поліцейських присягнули на вірність Українському народу" [950 patrol policemen swore allegiance to the Ukrainian people in Dnipropetrovsk]. Міністерство внутрішніх справ України. 17 January 2016.
  39. ^ "В Ивано-Франковске начала работу новая патрульная полиция" [A new patrol police began work in Ivano-Frankivsk]. 24 Канал. 31 January 2016.
  40. ^ "New police force begins patrol duties on streets of Ukraine Kherson". uatoday.tv. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  41. ^ "Новые патрульные Чернигова приняли Присягу на верность украинскому народу" [New patrol police in Chernihiv took the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people]. Министерство внутренних дел Украины. 19 February 2016.
  42. ^ "Poroshenko: I thank Dekanoidze for launching patrol police". www.ukrinform.net. 22 February 2016.
  43. ^ "Новые патрульные Кременчуга приняли Присягу на верность украинскому народу (ФОТОРЕПОРТАЖ)". Министерство внутренних дел Украины.
  44. ^ "Your new police - start in Cherkassy and Kremenchug! (PHOTOS, VIDEO)". MIA.
  45. ^ "Патрульна поліція стартувала у Чернівцях" [The patrol police started in Chernivtsi]. pda.pravda.com.ua. 5 March 2016.
  46. ^ "209 патрульних поліцейських склали Присягу перед громадою Тернополя" [209 patrol policemen took the oath in front of the Ternopil community]. Міністерство внутрішніх справ України. 12 March 2016.
  47. ^ "Національна поліція України". www.npu.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016.
  48. ^ "У Борисполі запрацювала нова патрульна поліція - Київська обласна державна адміністрація". 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016.
  49. ^ "Патрульна поліція стартувала у Чернівцях" [The patrol police started in Chernivtsi]. pda.pravda.com.ua. 27 March 2016.
  50. ^ "У Запоріжжі патрульні поліцейські присягнули на вірність українському народу (ФОТО, ОНОВЛЕНО ВІДЕО)". Міністерство внутрішніх справ України.
  51. ^ Censor.NET (19 April 2016). "193 patrol police officers took oath in Rivne. VIDEO+PHOTOS".
  52. ^ "Новини - Українська правда". pda.pravda.com.ua.
  53. ^ "У Сумах склала присягу патрульна поліція". 5 канал.
  54. ^ a b На вулиці Краматорська і Слов'янська вийде нова патрульна поліція (фото, відео) [New patrol police on the streets of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk]. mvs.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 14 May 2016.
  55. ^ "Новые патрульные являются будущим Украины - Хатия Деканоидзе (ФОТО, ДОБАВЛЕНО ВИДЕО)". Министерство внутренних дел Украины.
  56. ^ a b c Патрульна поліція Сєвєродонецька, Лисичанська та Рубіжного приступила до роботи [Patrol police of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Rubizhne begins work]. rbc.ua (in Ukrainian). 22 May 2016.
  57. ^ "Патрульная полиция Мариуполя присягнула на верность украинскому народу (ФОТО, ДОБАВЛЕНО ВИДЕО)". Министерство внутренних дел Украины.[dead link‍]
  58. ^ "Как полтавские полицейские пересели на российские «Нивы". 0532.ua - Сайт міста Полтави.
  59. ^ "Поліція Полтавщини отримала автомобілі "Renault Duster"".
  60. ^ "УАЗ-3163 "Патріот"". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  61. ^ "Ukraine marks National Police Day on July 4 - news about social life". www.unian.info.
  62. ^ "Ukraine celebrates first National Police Day since revolution". Agencia EFE. 4 August 2016.[dead link‍]
  63. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Who to call when the police kill? Chronicle of tortures, murders and beatings of law enforcement officers, Ukrayinska Pravda (5 June 2020)
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