Almost 17,000 Ukrainian police officers dismissed since early March

Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry has dismissed almost 17,000 police officers since early March who betrayed their oath and engaged in corruption, said on June 24 Serhiy Chebotar, a ministry deputy head. “An active fight is being waged against police officers that betrayed their oath, including those mixed up in corrupt schemes, the drug trade and other legal violations,” he said. The ministry is undergoing reforms that include the development of a system that will review staffing, in terms of the fight against corruption.

Zenon Zawada: This announcement is a hopeful start for the Poroshenko administration, which has its work cut out for itself. Most of the dismissals were performed under the leadership of Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov, who remains in his post, and former acting president Oleksandr Tuchynov, who is currently parliamentary speaker. Yet Poroshenko stands to boost his political standing and reap large political dividends both domestically and abroad if he builds upon these gains on a long-lasting basis.