Last major interview of Denis Monastyrsky as Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Minister Denis Monastyrsky gave his last interview on the eve of the new year to the TV channel “Rada”. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs summed up the extremely difficult 2022 and shared ambitious plans for 2023.
Recalling the first days of the large-scale Russian invasion, the minister spoke about his feelings: “There were no months, there were no weeks — there were hours. Continuous hours, like one day, lasting very, very long... At this moment you realize that the key role is played by the person standing at the checkpoint of Kharkiv region — the border guard. Today, a key role is played by the policeman, who, realizing that there is an invasion of vehicles, will remain in the city and will maintain law order and enter into battle with the enemy. The key point is the feeling that the main man in Ukraine is there - on the front line, in the trench, at the checkpoint, in the regional department, where the fire is... THERE are the main people of the country.”
He noted that during the large-scale invasion, the functionality of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has changed by more than 80 percent — everything has changed a lot, new challenges have appeared: “There was an experience in 2014, when whole departments and regional management moved to the side of the enemy. Now there was an understanding that this would not happen - police and rescuers entered the fight, helped people to leave... We survived. The system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the backbone of security has survived. No police department has crossed over to the side of the enemy, and that is what has kept the security in large regions.”
Regarding the changes, the minister noted that along with the usual functionality of the national police, today we are talking about the creation of an assault brigade from among the police, which will be involved to protect the state in the hottest points.
“The National Guard — 80 percent of which fights on the front — is our pride, the true heroes of our country. Which, along with the Armed Forces, keep the defense in the most fierce points of our country. And this is completely new.
The SNS are heroes without weapons that the whole country is proud of today. This is the #1 service that is most trusted. Our colleagues abroad do not understand how it is possible to work in such extraordinary conditions at all,” Denis Monastyrsky was proud of himself.
During the interview, we talked about one of the biggest challenges of the war - the demining of de-occupied territories:
“The path and the experience we are now gaining are covered in the blood of our brothers — pyrotechnics, sappers, civilians. This is a very high price that we pay every day. Our enemy is directing everything to make the land he leaves dangerous. Whether we have enough strength to exchange territories in the shortest time — of course not,” the minister pondered.
That is why the number of fire technicians of the State Emergency Service has been doubled and will be further increased by 500. That is why our partners help us — first of all with equipment, special protective suits. More acute is the issue with machines that can deport dangerous territories.
“I am convinced that at the end of this terrible war, we will have the most extensive and experienced pyrotechnic service on the continent. And that will certainly be our advantage. This is what interests our partners from the EU, because today we are talking about the entry of our system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs into the Civil Protection Mechanism,” said Denis Monastyrsky.
They also discussed the issue of bringing Russian servicemen to justice for war crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine.
With pain, the minister said that the torture and murder of civilians, the abuse of women, the mass exhumation — struck the most.
“This is something that cannot be justified by anything. Therefore, it is a matter of honor to record these crimes in such a way that it becomes a solid evidence base in Ukrainian courts and any international instance. We understand very clearly that the torture of civilians is the policy of the Putin regime,” he said.
We also mentioned the collaborators.
“Now the systematic work of the NPU, SBU, other law enforcement agencies does not give such people a chance. Only in the National Police there are more than two thousand proceedings,” the minister said.
We discussed the objective reasons for reducing the number of crimes, about the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in this direction and, most importantly, the minister noted the clear position of citizens on this issue and their assistance to law enforcement.
It was about strengthening responsibility for breaking the curfew: “An absolute number of citizens are responsible for the restrictions associated with the curfew. This is the level of maturity of society with which we will enter the post-war period.”
Denis Monastyrsky spoke about ambitious plans for 2023 as follows:
“Challenges move us towards novels that will be realized in 2023. This is, of course, digitization and getting most services online - both inside and outside the country.
We are also thinking about changes in the national police system — a new assault brigade of the NPU, 5 brigades of the NGU will be created. The militarization of the National Guard, the preservation of service, the National Police, the State Police - so that our citizens feel that we live in a European independent state.”
Without taking on the challenges of war, he was determined to end the phenomenon of “liberty in the law” and manifestations of organized crime.
The Minister appreciated his team and the opinion of the community: “The level of trust in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has grown unprecedentedly. I really wanted it to be preserved. This is what brings us closer to recognized European states, where a law enforcement officer is a person who helps, not restricts, rights.
But the very first thing he wanted was to restore family balance and have more time for the family: “These balances are broken in every Ukrainian family today. My family is a great happiness that I have. It helps to get through these difficult months. I would very much like Ukrainian families to have the opportunity to unite. There is an inner feeling that next year will be victorious. It's not just weapons that win on the battlefield — faith and confidence in victory win.”
