Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has dismissed the entire leadership chain of Kyiv’s patrol police after officers were filmed fleeing a shooting scene in the capital’s Holosiivsky district, in an incident that triggered public outrage and a criminal investigation.
“As for personnel decisions following the findings of the internal investigation, the entire chain of command has now been removed: from platoon commander to the head of the Kyiv Patrol Police Department,” Klymenko told journalists on Tuesday, April 21.
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A gunman opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in a residential district of the Ukrainian capital on Saturday before being killed during an attempted arrest.
In a video published by Ukrainian media, two uniformed police officers wearing yellow vests are seen standing near a person on the ground before running from the scene as gunshots are heard.
Prosecutors have opened a criminal case, and both officers have been formally notified of suspicion over alleged inaction that allowed an armed attacker to continue firing.
Klymenko said the incident exposed systemic problems in training, discipline, and battlefield readiness, and announced a sweeping overhaul of police preparation.
“My requirement is the appointment of deputies for service training in each unit exclusively only of individuals who have gone through combat operations,” he said.
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He said patrol officers will now undergo intensive, rotation-based training at military-style facilities.
“Now patrol police officers will live on training grounds in rotation. We will involve military personnel who have combat experience in the 1st and 2nd army corps of the National Guard, as well as from the State Border Guard Service, as instructors,” Klymenko said.
He added that veterans will also be brought into the system.
“And veterans who will be demobilized, who can teach – we will offer them to continue service specifically in the system of training and combat preparation of police officers,” he said.
Klymenko said the changes will initially apply to all patrol units before expanding to district police departments.
He stressed that the reforms are aimed not only at physical preparedness but also psychological resilience under fire.
“We are talking about training and about psychological resilience. Psychological resilience in an extreme situation is not determined by a test, but by the experience of being on a training ground with an instructor,” he said.
Klymenko also confirmed that, under presidential orders, Ukraine will revise police response protocols and training standards.
“By order of the president [Volodymyr Zelensky], response protocols and training programs must be reviewed. We are talking about tactics of action involving weapons and ammunition that may be in the hands of citizens,” he said.
He warned that officers must be ready for extreme scenarios even during routine calls.
“When responding to calls, patrol officers must be ready for the fact that at a minimum, a grenade could be thrown at them,” Klymenko said.
“A police officer should not be afraid when a stun grenade explodes somewhere or a bullet whistles by. Because a police officer is there to risk themselves for the lives of other people,” he added.
The minister said most officers have already undergone rotations in high-risk units in frontline regions. He also said he supports expanding rotations to frontline or near-frontline cities as part of readiness training.
“I would rotate everyone for at least one or two months, if not to the front, then at least to a frontline area. For example, the Kramatorsk Patrol Police Department. Or Pavlohrad, or Synelnykove,” he said.
The incident remains under investigation, with further disciplinary and legal decisions expected.
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