You're reading: Ukrainian police say they are not buying water cannons before elections

The Interior Ministry of Ukraine has rejected recent media reports that said that the ministry was allegedly buying water cannons before the upcoming parliamentary elections. 

“As far as I know, they [water cannons] were supposed to be bought before the Euro 2012 [European Football Championship]. As a matter of fact, some procedures are being carried out and we received funding a little bit later, that’s why we are buying them now,” the head of the mass and sports events unit of the Public Safety Department of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, Oleh Matveitsov, said in Kyiv on Thursday.

He added that the purchasing of water cannons is a scheduled process, it has nothing to do with the elections, and is aimed at supplying the ministry’s units with new equipment.