On the network, Ukrainian policemen have started a flash-mob: law enforcement officers tell how they got into the service, what they were doing before, and what their life outside the uniform is. In traditional reactions, DUMKA collected a part of these stories, which emphasize: policemen are just like us.
Before the stories, I propose to watch the short video that policemen add to their posts. It contains the main message of almost every following story: law enforcers are human beings like we are.
Zoya Vovk, before her service as a patrol police officer, worked as a journalist and TV host, she wanted to try herself in the socio-political sphere. But eventually, willing to become a part of the changes, she started to work in law enforcement agencies.
All posts end in roughly the same way: policemen stress that they want to live in a developed, democratic and independent country. They confess that they make mistakes, but add that they are working on their correction; they promise to defend us always and say: “I’m just like you, back me up!”
Before his work in police, Oleksii Biloshitsky was a lawyer. He started serving since 2015; he knows five languages and, with his wife, brings up a daughter.
Oleh Boldyrev, better known as Martin Brest, used to work in an IT. He put on a uniform in 2015 and did his best to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression. Now he’s serving in a patrol police, together with his wife he brings up two sons.
According to Mykhailo Vershynin, by 2014, he lived for his own interests and didn’t understand what motherland is, and what Ukraine personally means for him. Everything had changed with the beginning of the war. By 2016, the author of the post was defending the country in a volunteer battalion, and now he serves in patrol police.
At the age of 18, Vitalii Horkun took an oath of allegiance to Ukrainian people as a regular serviceman and he promises never to violate it. Vitalii named his son Bohdan in honor of his brother in arms, who died in a fight with a Russian aggressor.
Oleksandr Hostishchev, in April 2014, volunteered for the Dnipro-1 battalion, together with his brothers-in-arms, he was breaking out of the encirclement near Ilovaisk. After this he was the head of the police department in Lviv region, now he’s serving in the patrol police of Ukraine.
Konstiantyn Dronhal, at the age of 18, took an oath as a regular serviceman of the internal forces. Since then he has served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Yevhenii Zhukov began to serve in 2003, 12 years he spent in airmobile and assault troops. Currently, he’s serving in the patrol police of Ukraine, studying English, together with his wife he brings up two sons.
Vasyl Koryak managed his own car service until 2014. A future policeman put on the uniform in the summer of 2014. However, according to him, he saw a real war only in 2015, when he served as the commanding officer of the motorized infantry company.
Serhii Merchuk said that when he was applying for a job in the patrol police, he was ashamed of his decision at first. However, now, after three years, he says with certainty that he is at his place and does the job he likes.
Lilia Naumushkina took an oath of allegiance to Ukrainian people in 2015, together with her husband-policeman, she brings up her daughter.
Kateryna Pavlichenko has been working as a lawyer since 2009, but in 2015 she has joined the patrol police. The defender confesses that she is proud of her title of police officer and the fact that she’s a part of the big police family.
Roman Pylypenko, whose house is now occupied by the Russian military, despite all, believes in the better future of our state and admits that he is trying to do his best to make Ukraine change for the better.
Yurii Rybak admits that he saw the beginning of the war in its very bud, in actions and faces. Therefore, he’s ready to take back and return to his native Donetsk region, but he will never forgive the death of his father and thousands of Ukrainians.
Yuriy Chabarenko applied to the newly formed police unit on the first day after graduating from the university. The law-enforcer is convinced: everything that one can do for our country is to love his or her family and work well.
Bogdan Shevchuk has been a student and agronomist since 2009, and since 2015 he has started to serve in the patrol police of Ukraine.
Stories of policemen were collected by Stepan the Goat
