“This is unacceptable”: Yevgeny Zhukov explained his resignation following the terrorist attack in Kyiv

 He announced this in a Facebook post, explaining that the decision was based on his personal responsibility for the actions of his subordinates.

According to Zhukov, during the incident, two patrol officers acted “unprofessionally and disgracefully”, failed to assess the situation, did not engage the attacker and left the injured citizens behind. He stressed that such behaviour is unacceptable both for the police officers themselves and for the entire system.

“I have headed the Patrol Police Department of Ukraine since 2015 and know what it means to be responsible for personnel. That is precisely why I have taken the decision to submit my resignation from my post. I believe this is the fair thing to do,” Zhukov said.

At the same time, he stressed that this incident does not characterise the entire police force as “bad, inexperienced and ineffective”. According to him, thousands of officers carry out complex and dangerous work every day: rescuing people, assisting with evacuations, apprehending criminals and taking part in combat operations.

Zhukov also noted that the final assessment of the patrol officers’ actions should be provided by the criminal investigation and the internal inquiry. He stressed that a leader is responsible not only for successes but also for failures.

He separately thanked Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, National Police Chief Ivan Vyhovskyi, and everyone who had spoken out on the situation for their support.

As reported by ThePublic, the attack in the Holosiivskyi district highlighted what experts had been saying for years: the lack of proper combat training for patrol officers and a crisis of leadership within the department. ThePublic analysed how the patrol police force has developed and why the reform, which began with a high level of public trust, has found itself at the centre of the biggest scandal in its entire history.

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