The Government of Ukraine plans to allow the mobilization of the SES and the National Police, which has already caused dissatisfaction within the system. Critics of this decision fear the possible deterioration of the criminogenic situation in the country.
According to the new mobilization legislation, military service men working in the National Police and the State Emergency Service (SES) are subject to booking. However, the law does not explicitly indicate what percentage of NPU and SESS employees can have a reservation, leaving the opportunity that all 100% can be booked.
This uncertainty often becomes the object of criticism in the conversations of Ukrainians, who are indignant that all employees of law enforcement agencies who have a good physical form and weapons management skills are booked, while representatives of civilian professions are not.
However, the situation can change quickly.
One of the first to mobilize the SES employees to the front was reported by the Verkhovna Rada deputy from "European Solidarity" Alexei Goncharenko on June 1. He called this decision "absolutely crazy."
"Their mobilization is nonsense. Who will do their work? Who will come to the call after another Russian attack on an apartment building? Who will extinguish the fire?" He said.
According to him, SESS staff are forced to transfer to the police, and from there - to combat units to the front.
At the end of May, a petition appeared on the Cabinet of Ministers' website to stop the mobilization of rescuers and other civil protection workers.
"Employees of the SESS ensure the guarantee of the constitutional rights of citizens to protect life, health and property; as well as the implementation of international humanitarian law in wartime," the petition reads.
It has gained the necessary 25,000 signatures in less than 3 days, so now the government has to consider it.
The government has already made a fundamental decision to remove 100% armor from the employees of the SES, the National Police and other law enforcement agencies. Discussions about the percentage of employees of these structures who are mobilized are currently underway - whether it will be 10%or 50%.
The processes of rescuers transfer to police units have already begun. This is explained by the presence of special ranks with SES. When mobilized to the Armed Forces, the civil protection officer would lose his rank and would become an ordinary soldier, while when transferring the specialization to the police.
According to the source in the leadership of the law enforcement system, mobilization to the front units concerns mainly employees of the SES, who held positions in the rear regional departments. Involvement of firefighters and rescuers from the frontline areas is not planned.
"To say that they send everyone in a row is not true. There is no such thing," - says the interlocutor. He also does not believe that the mobilization of 10% of SES employees will worsen the fire response situation and other emergencies in Ukraine.
The deputy Alexei Goncharenko informed that he had already sent a deputy's address to the government due to the possible absence of armor for the SES. According to him, the Ministry of Economy determined that only 50% of SES workers would book and the other 50% are subject to mobilization. He provided a copy of the corresponding letter from the Ministry of Economy, but the Air Force cannot confirm its authenticity. According to the Air Force, the issue of 50% of the armor is really discussed at the government level.
With regard to the National Police, despite the widespread belief that there are "hundreds of thousands of police" in Ukraine, their number is much smaller. According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Igor Klimenko, there are only 75 thousand men-police and another 25,000 women in the country. Of this number, more than 6,000 are already serving at the front in units involved in hostilities, such as the united assault brigade of the police.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to create at least two more combat crews to participate in hostilities. In the frontal regions, about 30,000 police officers are served, who, in addition to investigating crimes and public protection, assist civilian evacuation. If you mobilize another 10% of the Nationalm, in the rear regions will remain about 30-35 thousand men-police, which is clearly not enough for such a large country as Ukraine.
The number of offenses is increasing. During the period of January - April this year, 181.4 thousand criminal offenses were recorded, while during the same period last year there were 172.3 thousand.
Interior Minister Igor Klimenko notes that the mobilization of police officers depends on the deterioration of the situation at the front.
"If the situation on the front is still complicated, then we all have to take weapons in our hands," he said in early May in an interview with 1+1.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs head emphasizes that the statement that the police are not involved in hostilities is at least "incorrect".
The Ministry of Defense, according to the Air Force, is the initiator of the armor from the SES and the National Defense.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Defense Dmitry Lazutkin informed the Air Force that he could not comment on the issue of mobilization of rescuers and police, advising to send an official request. The Air Force sent a request, but did not receive the answer at the time of publication.
The source in the government confirmed the existence of such a situation, but also recommended that you contact the Ministry of Defense for an official comment.
The SES leadership did not comment on this situation. However, in recent days, under all posts of department on social networks, dozens of comments have emerged, demanding "Returning the SES Reservation!".
