President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced the newly appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. He became Ihor Klymenko, former head of the National Police of Ukraine.
“Among the main tasks are trust and respect. So that Ukrainian children trust our policemen and want to become policemen, national guardsmen, rescuers, and border guards themselves. So that our citizens respect the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And that the “Offensive Guard”, which is currently being formed, will become a strong element of our defense and security forces,” said the Head of State, congratulating Ihor Klymenko on his appointment to the post,” the President of Ukraine noted.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi also mentioned the former head of the Ministry, Denys Monastyrskyi, who tragically died in January this year. He managed to build trust and respect for the police and all employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system.
Those present observed a minute of silence in memory of Denys Monastyrskyi and the leadership of the ministry, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who died while performing their duties and protecting Ukraine.
As the Head of State noted, citizens’ trust in the National Police, National Guard, State Emergency Service, State Border Service of Ukraine, which are part of the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has increased significantly today.
“In particular, we see this during the formation of new “Offensive Guard” brigades. Respect for the service is one of the important reasons why people really go to the service,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The President expressed his belief that Ihor Klymenko in his new position will also cope with the assigned tasks, because he is not only a responsible leader, but also well-versed in all aspects and areas of work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Ihor Klymenko, for his part, thanked for the trust and noted that he is aware of his personal responsibility for maintaining the stability and manageability of the MIA system in this extremely difficult period of full-scale war for our country.
“This war deprived people of the most important thing – a sense of security. And our goal is to return calm and peace to every Ukrainian home, to bring our people home from abroad. The entire team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs continues to work to make this goal a reality. We really have a lot of work to do,” said the minister.
He also called the strengthening of the combat capabilities of the National Guard, National Police and the State Border Service a priority task.
“We are already forming the “Offensive Guard” and we have to not only recruit volunteers, but also train them in a short period of time. To form truly combat units that will strengthen the security and defense forces of our country,” said Ihor Klymenko.
Equally important, according to him, is the implementation of stabilization measures, ensuring law and order and restoring the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs bodies in the de-occupied territories, as well as demining.
The minister emphasized the need to bring to justice all those who committed war crimes and collaborators. Ihor Klymenko is convinced that there should also be a principled, tough and effective fight against corruption.
In addition, despite the difficulties, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will continue work in the direction of improving the system of providing services to citizens both in Ukraine and abroad, and measures to restore and strengthen the state border, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs added.