#Liberated Territories: EUAM visited Snihurivka to announce a pilot project to support local police and prosecutors

May 26, 2023

On 23 May, representatives of the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM) visited liberated Snihurivka, to announce a pilot project aimed at assisting civil security agencies to overcome current challenges and enhance their civil protection capacities. The EUAM’s team met with the local police officers, prosecutors and military administration.

Snihurivka is a small town in the Mykolaiv region, in the South of Ukraine. From March until November 2022, the town was under Russian occupation. After the town’s liberation, police officers, prosecutors, and the local authorities put all efforts into restoring policing, the rule of law, and community safety in the area. Nowadays, the destroyed or damaged basic infrastructure, a high number of war crimes committed, and areas contaminated with mines are the main challenges for EUAM’s Ukrainian partners.

“Snihurivka in Mykolaiv region and Izyum in Kharkiv region are the two liberated towns which EUAM has chosen for the implementation of its pilot project. Considering the high number of war crimes committed in the area and the lack of basic equipment, the Mission aims to provide practical support and training to its counterparts. This means that alongside equipment donation, our experts will share their knowledge, experience and EU best practices on investigation and prosecution of war crimes, strategic communications, psychological first aid, mine awareness etc.,” says Georgios Pokas, the EUAM’s Senior Adviser on General Policing during the meeting with Snihurivka prosecutors.

Additionally, the EUAM’s team discussed with its interlocutors the necessity to enhance Community Policing in liberated territories. As a result, the parties agreed to launch the Citizen Advisory Group, a platform of interaction between the local population, authorities and law-enforcement agencies in Snihurivka. “Once set up, the Citizen Advisory Group will help you to identify safety problems and find local solutions to them. Moreover, the platform could become an effective tool of confidence building towards police and prosecutors”, Pokas pointed out to Anzor Maglaperidze, Head of Snihurivka Police Station.