berkut special police

Berkut (Ukrainian: Беркут; "golden eagle") was the Ukrainian system of special police (riot police) of the Ukrainian Militsiya within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The agency was formed on 16 January 1992, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as the successor to the Ukrainian SSR's OMON.

Initially specialized in fighting organized crime, Berkut transitioned into a gendarmerie used by the Ukrainian Militsiya for public security, operating semi-autonomously at the local or regional level.

They were easily identified by their distinctive blue tigerstrype kamysh (camouflage) uniforms.

Often used by the Yanukovich regime in the years before the Euromaidan, the Berkut became notorious for corruption and police brutality. Dissolved after the revolution, many officers defected to Putinist or separatist units during the Donbass War and Invasion of Ukraine.