Interior Minister Says 'People's Police' Illegal in Eastern Ukraine

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov will not acknowledge "people's police" on insurgent-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine.

According Censor.NET, he said that in interview for the Focus magazine.

"There is no such thing as "people's police" either in the Constitution or any other law in Ukraine. As an interior minister I do not acknowledge this sort of police and believe that any law enforcement body on the territory of the so-called DPR and LPR can only be acknowledged by the Ukrainian government if it is formed and acts in line with the Ukrainian legislation. There cannot be any other way to it," Avakov said.

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He also said that he would not participate in integrating "people's police" into the interior ministry. "I will not participate in that. There are loyal policemen left on the occupied territories. They act usually operate in secret. I consider these people as those serving Ukraine. Nobody else," the minister said.

"We have no people's militia, only armed bandits in Donbass [Eastern Ukraine]. I have been fighting them for six months and do not wish to tolerate them now. Although I support certain conditions of the truce plan, including ceasefire, so that the boys in our batallions stay alive. We need peace, but not at any cost. Especially, the cost of accepting bandits as people's police or any other legal body," he said.

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