BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • Trending

The photogenic new police officers patrolling Kiev's streets

  • Published
    9 July 2015
Share page
About sharing
police photoImage source, NASh Kiev / Facebook
Image caption,

Kiev residents are posting pictures of themselves with the city's new police officers

By BBC Trending
What's popular and why

Ukraine is trying to reform its police service, and the efforts - which include the hiring of a number of young and photogenic new officers - have reaped some unexpected rewards online.

Not only are Ukrainian police notoriously corrupt, external, but they also played a violent role in last year's dramatic events in Maidan Square, where more than 100 people were killed before president Viktor Yanukovych was eventually ousted from power.

As a result, the new administration in Kiev has been trying to reform the force - changing its name and uniforms, enlisting US and Canadian trainers, firing older officers, external and hiring 2,000 new ones - a quarter of them female, external. (Here's a BBC video about the changes.)

The new force started patrolling the streets of the Ukrainian capital over the weekend and since then they've been a big hit on social media, with many people sharing photos taken with the new recruits. Many of the selfies were being posted on Facebook pages such as this one run by local news site Nash Kiev, external ("Our Kiev") And the hashtag #KyivPolice, external has been used more than 3,500 times on Twitter in the past week.

police photoImage source, NASh Kiev / Facebook
@yarkoImage source, Twitter / @yarko
police photoImage source, NASh Kiev / Facebook

"Time will tell if the [police] reform will work or not. But the fact that there are people who sincerely believe in the 'serve and protect' thing, makes me really happy," said Facebook user Kira Kirilenko, external.

A well-known Ukrainian actor and TV personality, Antin Mukharskiy, shared a story about a group of, as he put it "traditional policemen" who were shouting and swearing underneath his window. "A patrol arrived in three minutes and traditional policemen started to disperse like elementary school students … When my wife thanked [the new officers] from the balcony, they replied: 'From now on, we will always take care of you.'"

And a popular coffee shop even offered free hot drinks to police officers via a Facebook post, external that has been liked more than 5,000 times.

But despite the PR boost, there is still some scepticism as to whether the reforms will stamp out corruption. One poll indicated that four-fifths of Ukranians believe the fight against corruption is not working, external.

"A feast for the eyes. All the traffic was staring at and waving to #kyivpolice, and we almost missed the green lights," said journalist Oksana Denysova, who posted a picture of two police cars, external. But she ended her post with a note of caution: "Do not let us down, darlings."

Reporting by Dmytro Zotsenko, BBC Monitoring‏

Blog by Mike Wendling, external

Next story: "You have to walk away": one woman's dramatic domestic violence plea

A still from the viral video by Emma Murphy detailing her account of being beaten by her former partnerImage source, Emma Murphy / Facebook
Image caption,

A still from the viral video by Emma Murphy detailing her account of being beaten by her former partner

An Irish woman's emotional account of domestic violence has attracted international attention and been watched almost 9 million times. READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • Serious questions for Tories over Afghan data breach - PM

    • Published
      38 minutes ago
  • Live. 

    Israel strikes Damascus military HQ as fighting between Syrian forces and Druze continues

    • 6631 viewing6.6k viewing
  • UK inflation at highest for almost a year and a half

    • Published
      3 hours ago

More to explore

  • Three key questions after Afghan data breach sparked unprecedented secret evacuation

    A monument inscribed with the word Afghanistan outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in London
  • Why is South Korea retrying a spy chief who assassinated a president?

    Kim Jae-kyu sitting between soldiers during the trial in 1979
  • 'It felt personal': Si King on avoiding Sycamore Gap tree felling site until now

    Hairy Biker Si King is stood in front of a fence surrounding the stump at Sycamore Gap, wearing a blue scarf and dark green jacket on a cloudy day
  • How CCTV exposed lies of couple who murdered their grandson

    A young two-year-old boy with light brown hair smiling as he looks at a phone. He is wearing a black and blue stripped jumper, with a sofa and white wooden door behind him
  • Ukrainians unimpressed by Trump's 50-day ultimatum to Putin

    A woman holds a cat in front of a building in Kyiv hit by a Russian shell on 10 July
  • How will age verification for porn work and what about privacy?

    A man looking at his phone in bed
  • BBC pay 2024-2025: The full list of star salaries

    Gary Lineker talking into a BBC Sport mic
  • Watch: How do you get a phone call with the president?

    Donald Trump and Gary O'Donoghue
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Emma Watson banned from driving for speeding

  2. 2

    Co-op boss confirms all 6.5m members had data stolen

  3. 3

    How will age verification for porn work and what about privacy?

  4. 4

    Trans changing room row nurse cleared of misconduct as tribunal resumes

  5. 5

    Physician associates need new job title, says review

  6. 6

    Serious questions for Tories over Afghan data breach - PM

  7. 7

    UK inflation at highest for almost a year and a half

  8. 8

    Southern Water issues hosepipe ban for 1m people

  9. 9

    Trip drink ad banned over claim it makes you calm

  10. 10

    The Open tee-times 'tweaked' due to band parade in Portrush

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Step into the world of luxury holidays

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Billion Dollar Playground
  • Love and fatherhood in noughties Brixton

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Babyfather
  • Will Alison and Daniel be in tune again?

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Mix Tape
  • The reality of relationships in the spotlight

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Sex After Celebrity
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.