Zhukov, who resigned after patrol officers fled from the terrorist, has been appointed adviser to the head of the National Police

Yevhen Zhukov, who resigned as head of the patrol police because two officers fled from gunfire and left civilians in danger, has been appointed adviser to the head of the National Police.

This was stated by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko while speaking with journalists.

“This is a man who has been involved in the war. ‘Khishchnyk’ fights very well. But morally, it is difficult to remain in office when — and we spoke with him about this yesterday — two police officers made a major mistake while carrying out their basic duty, and that affected the stability of the entire law enforcement system. Of course, he made his decision. And he said: ‘Mr. Minister, I will now announce that I am resigning.’ But I very much wanted him to stay on the team. Therefore, Zhukov has been appointed adviser to the head of the National Police. He will deal with war-related issues — that is, police involvement in the war,” the minister said.

He clarified that Zhukov’s deputy, General Oleksandr Fatsevych, will temporarily perform the duties of head of the patrol police.

In addition, Klymenko said that the entire chain of command in the patrol police system had been removed from their posts.

“Following the internal investigation, the entire chain of command was removed from office: from the platoon commander to the head of the Kyiv Patrol Police Department (Yaroslav Kubrakov),” Klymenko said.

The interior minister also proposed sending all police officers to the front or front-line areas for one or two months to gain combat experience. According to Klymenko, most of the personnel have already gone through rotation in consolidated units.

“They served there for several months. I generally hold this position and have voiced it more than once, though I do not know whether the leadership of the National Police will support me: I would send everyone for at least a month or two, if not to the front, then at least to a frontline area. For example, the Kramatorsk Patrol Police Department. Or Pavlohrad, or Synelnykove,” Klymenko noted.

According to him, the Interior Ministry is proposing that demobilized veterans serve as instructors for the police and help improve their “psychological resilience.”

Klymenko said that a police officer should not be afraid of gunfire and explosions.

“Because a police officer is a police officer precisely in order to risk his life for the lives of other people,” the minister said.

As a reminder, the officers who fled have been formally notified of suspicion. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko published footage from the patrol officers’ body cameras.