The fourth year of full-scale war. Ukraine is changing — and with it, the work of the law enforcement system is transforming. New challenges, new crimes, new forms of threats. How is the criminal police responding to this? Can the law withstand the pressure of war? And what lies ahead?
We discuss this in an interview with Andriy Nebitov, who headed the Kyiv Regional Police at the time of the full-scale invasion and now serves as Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine and Head of the Criminal Police.
“The National Police began a systematic reform from the very first full-scale invasion. This reform affected both the structure of the departments and the principles and directions according to which their activities should be carried out. All this time, while the war is going on, we are constantly looking for ways to be as useful as possible to the Security and Defence Forces. I will start with the main thing: the National Police has formed a separate assault brigade called ‘Lut’, which consists not of mobilised personnel, but of former police officers. That is, yesterday’s operatives, investigators, patrol officers – that is, regular police officers. They took up arms, formed a brigade and are now carrying out tasks in the east, in the Donetsk region, and destroying the enemy,” Andriy Nebitov said in an interview.
The deputy head of the National Police of Ukraine and head of the criminal police also shared:
- What were the first actions and decisions taken after receiving information about the start of the Russian troops’ offensive on the Kyiv region?
- What are the specifics of police work in the frontline regions?
- The police during the war: what new areas of work have emerged and what is the most difficult challenge in the realities of military operations?
- Has the crime situation in the rear regions worsened?
- Juvenile crime and war: why do minors so often agree to commit acts of sabotage – is there more to it than just money? And how can parents protect their children from committing crimes?
- Has the problem of drug trafficking in Ukraine increased since the start of the war and how does the situation compare with other European countries?
- How is the police fighting for the environment: how many crimes against the environment have been uncovered in Ukraine this year?
- The shadow trade in weapons: what mechanisms has the police developed to curb this threat?
Why is the number of human trafficking cases increasing? - Responsibility for war crimes: which of the investigations into the occupiers’ crimes in the Kyiv region is the most painful and at the same time the most fundamental?
- Juvenile crime and war: why do minors so often agree to commit acts of sabotage – is there more to it than just money? And how can parents protect their children from committing crimes?
- How has the war brought the Ukrainian police closer to their international partners and foreign colleagues?
- Extradition of criminals: which case of international police cooperation is an example of effective work?
- Why was it so important to rebuild the police station in Borodianka, which was destroyed by the occupiers?
The answers can be found in an extensive interview with Andriy Nebitov, Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine and Head of the Criminal Police, for the video project ‘Kyiv Region 24/7’ — ‘Denys Zhupnik. On Time.’
