Ukraine's National Guard nothing but 'soap bubble' – Berkut veteran
21 April 2014, 12:47 -- Ukraine's former Berkut riot policemen have reacted skeptically to the authorities' invitation to return service two months after Berkut was officially dissolved by acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. 'They are now creating the National Guard and some other unclear units manned by children and the elderly, absolutely untrained. It's nothing but a 'soap bubble',' Vladimir Krashevsky, head of the Berkut Veterans' Association, told reporters.
After part of Berkut policemen moved to Crimea or Russia, the authorities realized that there weren't enough professionals they could rely upon, so they decided to invite those Berkut officers who stayed in Ukraine for family or other reasons to come back.
'They [the authorities] don't control anything. The Right Sector doesn't obey them. Therefore, Berkut officers don't trust them,' Krashevsky said.
The call comes against the backdrop of an ongoing trial of a group of Berkut officers on charges of their alleged involvement in shooting at maidan protesters.
Berkut is being made a scapegoat, Krashevsky said.
'I doubt that any former Berkut unit will heed the call. For those in the east, that's entirely out of the question. In central and western regions, they are also refusing, as far as I know, all the more so that they already know that they will be used to crack down on the people,' he said.
On the Easter Sunday, Ukraine's Interior Ministry issued a statement urging former Berkut units and maidan self-defense forces to unite 'in the face of an external threat'.
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