How many Ukrainian policemen defected to enemy at the beginning of war: MIA's answer
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia, approximately 3,500 law enforcement officers were dismissed. About 250 joined the enemy's side, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, stated in an interview with "Radio Svoboda."
According to Klymenko, those law enforcement officers who remained in the temporarily occupied territories left Ukraine without authorization or switched sides to the enemy were dismissed. This accounts for around 3,500 individuals out of the total personnel of 130,000.
"But we considered that some of these people left the country or went to Western Ukraine without authorization on the first day or two or three days. We dismissed such individuals. They are included in the 3,500 figure. Some people had seriously ill relatives in those territories. They refused to leave these territories. Some of them submitted requests for dismissal and were released on the same day. And a few individuals remained and collaborated with the enemy," Klymenko explained.
According to the minister, around 250 individuals agreed to cooperate with the Russian forces. However, they did not hold high-ranking positions before and switched sides with the enemy to gain some advancement.
"Usually, these are people who hadn't achieved any significant career or professional heights at that time," Klymenko added.
