Tragic shootout in Cherkasy: Law enforcement tried to involve veterans before attack
Law enforcement officers attempted to involve veterans in negotiations with a former serviceman who shot dead four police officers and wounded another during an arrest operation in the Cherkasy region on January 27.
This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Roman Sushchenko, First Deputy Head of the Cherkasy Regional Council, who is currently acting as its head.
“When law enforcement officers were on their way to conduct investigative actions involving the serviceman, they contacted veterans so that they could simply talk to him. It was the police themselves who initiated this idea. Unfortunately, the veterans did not have time to arrive – the firefight began earlier. The situation could have been handled more delicately to avoid such a horrific tragedy,” Sushchenko clarified.
He also stressed that the tragic story, which ended with the deaths of five people and the injury of another, is primarily linked to the methods used by law enforcement, which failed to take into account the human factor and the fact that the country is at war.
“We have veterans who are seriously traumatized. This requires a complete reassessment of how law enforcement agencies operate in this context, as well as veteran policy in general. Psychologists and veteran hubs should have worked with this veteran. I know that he was a member of several veteran organizations in Korsun. Moreover, there are deputies who knew him well. He had long-standing confrontational relations with the law enforcement system because he once became involved in a case that resulted in the imprisonment of a tax official. There was a trial, and apparently some misunderstandings with law enforcement remained. Back in the early 2000s, he was persecuted – which is why he moved from the district center to a village,” Sushchenko said.
According to him, the tragedy will provide lessons for everyone – society, communities, law enforcement, and veterans – because without communication and joint efforts, serious challenges may arise in the future.
“Service members who fought on the front lines have a very heightened sense of justice and carry certain psychological traumas. To avoid tension, work with them must be extremely delicate – individually. I do not want to make predictions, but I hope it will be possible to stabilize these relations somewhat. Still, a compressed spring can be felt,” Sushchenko concluded.
As reported, on January 27 in the Cherkasy region, during the detention of a man who, according to the National Police, was wanted on suspicion of committing murder, the suspect opened targeted fire on law enforcement officers. Four police officers were killed and one was wounded. The suspect was subsequently eliminated by special forces.
At the same time, a source told Ukrinform that the four police officers were killed during an operation to detain a suspect in attempted murders of a city council deputy.
Later, Head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Cherkasy region Oleh Hudyma clarified that the shooting at law enforcement officers was carried out by a former serviceman.
According to local residents, the shooter’s name was Serhii Rusinov and allegedly had a personal conflict with a deputy of the Korsun City Council.
Photo: Cherkasy Regional Council