Ukraine's police chief resigns, complains of gov't pressure

FILE In this Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016 file photo head of the National Police of Ukraine Khatiya Dekanoidze, centre, speaks with police officers during National Police Day in Kiev, Ukraine. Dekanoidze, who was driving reforms through the country's notoriously corrupt police force, has resigned Monday Nov. 14, 2016, after a year in the job, complaining of government pressure. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) (The Associated Press)

MOSCOW – Ukraine's police chief, who was driving reforms through the country's notoriously corrupt police force, has resigned after a year in the job, complaining of government pressure.

Khatiya Dekanoidze, who also was a deputy interior minister, told a televised news conference Monday that her official powers were "not enough for dramatic changes." Dekanoidze complained of pressure by government officials and members of parliament who "interfered" in police work.

One of the pledges of the new Ukrainian government, which took over in February 2014 after pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country, was to combat rampant corruption in Ukraine's police.

The overhaul of the national police has so far been the new government's most visible reform with the entire Kiev traffic police corps disbanded and replaced by a new force last year.