The European Union has launched a EUR 6 million 'Support to Police Reform in Ukraine' (SPRU) project to strengthen community policing in 20 police cities in Ukraine and to introduce a new model for public order policing.

"To improve the relationship between the police and public and support community policing efforts, reception areas of the 20 police stations selected for the project will be refurbished and up to 15 vehicles donated. Working with EUAM, the project will also provide training to promote leadership for senior and mid-level police managers as well as training in other areas such as stress management… The project aims to support a new Ukrainian model for public order policing based on the Scandinavian approach. Up to 420 police officers will receive training, with 60 of these expected to become trainers in their own right," the EU Delegation in Ukraine said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

This project is aimed at strengthening community policing in 20 police districts in mid-sized towns in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv regions and support the reform of public order policing in Ukraine.

According to the delegation, it builds on activities already delivered by the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM) and will be implemented – over 18 months – by the Swedish police and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), with the support of EUAM.