The chief commandant of the Polish police, Yaroslav Shimchik, claims that he did not know that he was presented with a combat grenade launcher instead of a used tube.
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Earlier, the Polish police reported that a gift, received by him during his visit to Ukraine on December 11-12, exploded in the office of the chief commandant of the Polish police. The explosion injured two people.
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The Polish side turned to the Ukrainian side with a request to provide appropriate explanations.
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In an interview, Shimchik said that after meeting with the head of the Ukrainian police a week ago in Kyiv, they exchanged gifts. The Polish general handed over to the Ukrainian colleague, among other things, stationery and a bottle of Polish alcohol.
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“Mr. General handed me a tube from a grenade launcher, which, according to him, was used, empty, safe, converted into a speaker that can be used via Bluetooth. He showed me how this speaker works,” the Polish general said.
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The second meeting, according to Shimchik, was held at the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, where the deputy head of the department, Dmitry Bondar, demonstrated to the Polish delegation “various elements of used weapons from their daily service.”
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“These are neutralized rockets, grenade launchers, elements of tanks and aircraft. At the end of the conversation, General Bondar said that he had such a souvenir for us. It was a similar tube from a used grenade launcher,” the Polish police chief said.
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“We asked if you are sure that this is safe equipment, because we will be returning across the border, if we can transport it. We were assured that yes, because this device is without explosives, that it is scrap metal,” he added.
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According to Shimchik, such gifts are given quite often in Ukraine. “I know that Ukrainians give such gifts to other service representatives, including those from Europe. My deputy received a similar, used element, being recently in Ukraine, in June I also received an element of a emasculated weapon as a keepsake,” he said.
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According to him, at the border he did not report the gift, and his car was not checked.
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“They didn’t look in because I was passing the border on a diplomatic passport. And I didn’t report the gift, because in our minds it was not weapons, but two used empty tubes from grenade launchers,” he said.
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Shimchik claims that the grenade launcher in his office went off randomly. “The fact that I didn’t aim at anything is evidenced by the destruction. The tube of the grenade launcher at the time of the explosion stood vertically on the floor. An experienced ballistician will certainly give an analysis of where the hole is in the floor and where the hole is in the ceiling. This proves that I did not shoot from it Because they shoot from such a grenade launcher, putting it on the shoulder in a horizontal position,” he said.
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The general claims that he is not familiar with the weapon that was presented to him.
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“For the first time in my life, I had this type of grenade launcher in my hands. I am not fond of weapons, especially strictly military ones, and the only weapon that I have is my service weapon,” he said.
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At the same time, a letter was immediately sent to the Ukrainian side with a request for clarification. “We immediately wrote to the Ukrainian side, reporting the incident. So far, we have not received a response,” Shimchik said.
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According to him, special services from both sides are investigating the incident. “I know that ABW (Polish Internal Security Agency) is doing this, and the Ukrainian side has appointed the SBU,” the general said.
