Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov has said that the National Guard of Ukraine will be reformed to become a contract based service.

"I don't know anything about a wave of mobilization of the Interior Ministry's battalions. I know that there will be no new mobilization, the president said so. I know that the number of contract soldiers will be significantly increased in the National Guard and in the army. In the National Guard we will set a course for a completely contract-based service," he said to journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Avakov said that the switch over to a contract system would take a long time.

As for the special volunteer battalions of the Interior Ministry that participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), the minister said that there are special education programs for battalion personnel who want to join the other structures of the National Guard and the Interior Ministry.

Avakov said that these structures include the KORD special detachment which is based on U.S. SWAT teams, adding that many ATO participants have decided to join the police as well.

Avakov went on to say that a special program to treat and rehabilitate ATO participants is being introduced.