Police officers of the community of Donetsk region live and work in the hottest areas of the front
On May 28, Ukraine celebrates the 5th anniversary of the creation of the community police officers service. In the Donetsk region, they were the last to leave the settlements occupied by Russia, and the first to enter the de-occupied villages. Children were evacuated under the shells and raised the flag on the liberated land together with the inhabitants. The best officers, who are close to the inhabitants in the conditions of war, were honored with awards.
In Donetsk region, the project “Community Police Officer” started in 2020. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the community officers took on new duties: they evacuated people from the combat zone in Lyman, Maryinka, Bakhmut, etc., recorded the consequences of shelling, counteracted looting, provided humanitarian aid, together with Ukrposhta transported pensions. Community police officers alone delivered more than 160,000 food and hygiene kits to people.
POGs respond to all residents' messages. Since the beginning of the year, they have processed more than 5 thousand challenges. Most of them were about large-scale destruction. The housing of the “sheriffs” was also damaged.
Police officers of the Liman community Vladimir Gladkoskok and Dmitry Mazurov were among the first to join the unit, and now serve near the front line. Knowledge of the territory and the trust of citizens have come in handy for law enforcement. Today, dozens of people owe their lives to them.
“When the enemy troops broke through the defense and were already entering Zarichne, about 60 people gathered near the house of culture, eager to leave. On the official “Duster” I took residents to the Estuary - 7-8 people at a time. First, all children, and then adults. Because there were already heavy shelling, and a day later Zarechne was already occupied,” recalls Dmitry Mazurov.
They also rescued injured civilians. Volodymyr Gladkoskok together with his colleagues managed to take out and deliver to the doctors a resident of the village of Ozerne, who was severely injured by cluster munitions, at a time when fighting was already raging on the outskirts.
It is not the first time that a policeman risks himself for the sake of others: a few years ago he dived into an icy river and pulled out a drowning woman. And after the de-occupation, it was Vladimir who returned the Ukrainian flag to the building of the village council in the village of Rubtsy.
There is no light or communication in the devastated settlements of the Liman community, so all contacts with the outside world take place through community officers. The crew of “sheriffs” are attacked by enemy drones, and some sections of the road can barely withstand the car. However, community police officers are not looking for other work.
“No one knows this territory and these people better than me, so I am needed here,” says Vladimir Gladkoskok.
Despite the extremely difficult situation in the region, the project continues to develop. The recruitment for the posts of police officers of the Cherkasy community has been announced, work is underway on the implementation of the project in Slavyanskaya TG.
National Police of Ukraine
