If the situation in Ukraine develops in a way that requires police officers to take up arms, they will do so. This was stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko in an interview with a telethon, quoted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, UNN reports.
Details
There are currently 98 thousand police officers in the police force. Before the full-scale war, they were evenly distributed throughout the country
According to him, tectonic movements began with the beginning of the invasion. And now 35,000 police officers are on duty in the combat zone and in the frontline areas, which is 900 km from Chernihiv region in the north to Mykolaiv region in the south.
"Another 5,000 police officers are in the ranks of the 'Rage' brigade," Klymenko said.
Klymenko said that the rest of them ensure law and order in the country, fight crime and maintain order on the roads, and respond to citizens' appeals.
"If before the invasion there were 23-26 police officers for every 10,000 people in Ukraine, now only in the de-occupied frontline regions this figure is 100," the Minister said, adding that the range of duties and tasks of police officers has increased by 80%. That is, almost twice as much.
At the same time, the number of police officers has not increased, and no recruitment has been conducted, because we understand that the country is having a hard time
He said that if the situation develops in a way that requires police officers to take up arms, they will do so. He also recalled the first months of the invasion, when police officers were fighting back against the Russian invaders in combined units in almost all operational areas.
If the situation in the country develops in such a way that it will be necessary to take up arms, we are ready to do so
Addendum
The relevant parliamentary committee began today consideration of the new draft law on mobilization, and the discussion will last for several days.