National Guard of Ukraine


The National Guard of Ukraine or NGU is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was originally created as an agency under the direct control of the Ukrainian parliament on 4 November 1991, following Ukrainian independence. It was later disbanded and merged into the Internal Troops of Ukraine on 11 January 2000 by then President Leonid Kuchma, as part of a "cost-saving" scheme. Following the early 2014 Ukrainian revolution on 13 March 2014, amidst the Russian intervention, the National Guard was reestablished and the Internal Troops were disbanded.
During the ongoing war in the Donbass region of Ukraine, the forces of the revived National Guard have fought against pro-Russian separatists and Russian troops disguised as separatists. Due to lack of reserves, earlier in the conflict Azov and Donbass battalions were the largest volunteer units by far with a strength of 1,000 and 900 soldiers respectively plus an extensive civilian support network that reinforced the National Guard.

History

The National Guard was recreated in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the National Guard of Ukraine" dated 12 March 2014,. A previous attempt by then President Yushchenko to bring back the National Guard during civil unrest in 2008 had been blocked in the Rada. It was finally re-established in March 2014 after the beginning of the Crimean crisis.
The NSU was originally created by the Law of Ukraine "On the National Guard of Ukraine" dated 4 November 1991, № 1775 -XII. Dissolved by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine" dated 11 January 2000. During its early existence, the National Guard was indirectly involved in the Transnistrian conflict during the Spring/Summer of 1992, helping to defend the border against a threatened spill-over of the conflict into Ukraine. Formations involved were the 3rd, 4th and 5th divisions NSU. Afterwards, up until 1998, National Guard units backed up the border guards in anti-smuggling operations conducted on the border with Moldova and Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region.

Badge of the NGU 1991–2000

Reformation

In 2014, amidst Russian intervention to Crimea, the reformed force was created partially on the basis of the Internal Troops of Ukraine, with plans for militias and armed wings from certain of Ukraine's political parties and organisations, including the Euromaidan movement, to be also incorporated into it. However those plans have run into resistance from at least some of the latter, who do not wish to give up their weapons or otherwise subordinate themselves to government control. Direct recruitment from military academies was also intended. On 16 March, the Yatsenyuk Government announced plans for the recruitment of 10,000 people within the next 15 days for the National Guard. Individual volunteers were also accepted.
The 2014 law provides for an initial authorised strength of 33,000 personnel. It also tasks the National Guard with maintaining public order, protecting sites like nuclear power plants and "upholding the constitutional order and restoring the activity of state bodies", in part a reference to the situation in Crimea, as well as to the perceived Russian threat to Ukraine as a whole. In the eastern parts of the country in particular, not only will the National Guard reinforce regular military units defending against a feared Russian invasion, it will also be expected to uphold Part 1 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine .
The National Guard will be receiving a large proportion of the money from the emergency budgetary reprogramming approved by parliament for the funding of weapons procurement, equipment repair, and training. It is hoped that, eventually, the strength of the National Guard will rise to 60,000 personnel. The pay for National Guard regulars is approximately 214 Euros a month, equivalent to an average Ukrainian's monthly income. Officers receive about twice that amount. There are also some attached Internal Troops personnel, mostly for training and/or logistical support purposes, e.g. K-9 teams that have been taking part in training and demonstration sessions.
Three National Guardsmen died in a riot on 31 August 2015 at the Verkhovna Rada when a policeman on leave threw a grenade outside the facade.
According to official figures, by mid-April 2016, the Interior Ministry and the National Guard have lost 308 personnel since the War in Donbass broke out, including 108 from the National Guard's volunteer battalions.

National Guard Structure

As of 2017 the National Guard is divided in five Operational-Territorial Commands:
A sixth Operational-Territorial Command for Crimea has been organized only on paper until the peninsula is returned by Russia to Ukraine.
There are various types of units in the National Guard:
In case that martial law would be declared all National Guard units, with the exception of transport units, would come under the command of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine as auxiliary to the Armed Forces proper.

Directly Subordinated Units

The Western Operational-Territorial Command, headquartered in Lviv, covers the oblasts of Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn and Zakarpattia.
The Northern Operational-Territorial Command, headquartered in Kyiv, covers the city of Kyiv and the oblasts of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr.
The Central Operational-Territorial Command, headquartered in Dnipro, covers the oblasts of Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Poltava.
The Eastern Operational-Territorial Command, headquartered in Kharkiv, covers the oblasts of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk and Sumy, and is the frontline command of National Guard forces forward deployed in the ongoing War in Donbass.
The Southern Operational-Territorial Command, headquartered in Odessa, covers the oblasts of Odessa, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia.
for Diplomatic Protection duties also known as military unit #2260

Historic Structure

At the end of 1992, six divisions were formed:
Other elements included, at various times:
Under the pre-2000 structure, the National Guard administratively came under the Ministry of Internal Affairs but operationally answered directly to the President of Ukraine, though prior to 1995 parliament had some operational oversight. In the 2014 structure, it reports both administratively and operationally to the Minister of Internal Affairs, a position at present held by Arsen Avakov. In the old NSU, its overall Commander was originally appointed by the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada for 5-year terms. His Deputy Commander was appointed to the post by the President of Ukraine upon a submission from the Commander. However, in 1995 the system was changed so that both the Commander and Deputy Commander would be appointed by the President.
Also part of the NSU was the Military Council, which approved the personal staff of the President of Ukraine based on submissions from the Commander, and the Department of National Guard, an administrative entity acting in accordance with the terms of reference approved by the President of Ukraine. This included the Guard's secondary Disaster management role.

2014 Organisation and Structure

As of late March 2014, it was still in flux. However, current developments suggest that the 'new' National Guard will primarily be a Light infantry force, heavily reliant on reserve units with a few mechanized and armor support elements. This is in contrast to the 'old' National Guard, which was mostly a Mechanized infantry force, albeit one that incorporated a number of specialized formations and units, along with organic armor, artillery and air support elements.
The first of the new National Guard's regular battalions formally paraded on 6 April, after only three weeks of training. The unidentified battalion consists of 500 members of between 18 and 55 years of age, and it appears to be tasked as a rapid reaction force, using soft skinned vehicles such as trucks for transport.
The 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade was formed as part of the National Guard on 2 June 2015.
The commander of the National Guard of Ukraine is appointed by the president since 25 December 2015. Up until then, the commander was appointed by the Verkhovna Rada under a motion from the President.

Azov Battalion

Named after the Sea of Azov the unit was created in Mariupol which is a major coastal city and operates as the capital of Donetsk Oblast due to the occupations of Donetsk by insurgents. The unit was one of the first battalions to form and begin to resist the rebels playing a large role in the defence of Mariupol. The battalion is mostly composed of Russian speaking volunteers from Eastern Ukraine and is headed by Andriy Biletsky.
The unit is known for far right agenda and has been reported as displaying Nazi symbols. The unit denies the allegation that they use Nazi symbols claiming that their logo is based on the Coat of Arms of Ukraine while elements of the national flag are also used.
It was upgraded into a full regiment in 2015, and is the only one with foreign soldiers in their ranks. It is also the NG's only territorial defence regiment in service.

Donbas Battalion

The most well known and first volunteer battalion to form to resist Russian insurgents in the Donbass, often referred to as the "little black men" as an analog to Crimea's Little green men. The unit was conceived and is headed by Semen Semenchenko, an ethnic Russian. It formed from local ethnic Russian volunteers of the Donbass region who disagreed with the separatist philosophy and wished to remain part of Ukraine but were dissatisfied with the inaction of Ukrainian government forces in the area. In effect it is an analog of the separatist formed Vostok Battalion which formed from ethnic Russians fighting for separatism.
Since its formation the unit became much more diverse accepting volunteers from all over Ukraine and foreign nations into their ranks, however ethnic Russians still make up the majority of the unit. The unit is one of the largest volunteer battalions in Ukraine with nearly 1,000 members and has participated in most major battles since the start of the War in Donbass. Despite being part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ National Guard unit, battalion had received funding from various donors. The unit also aided in the defence of Mariupol when Russian forces invaded through Novoazovsk, the battalion sent several tank destroyers to slow the Russian advance. The offensive toward Mariupol was halted near Shyrokyne and Bezimenne.
In September 2014 the unit was reorganized into a Regiment the bulk of which consisted of a 700-man Battalion Tactical Group. The Ministry of Defence stated that the unit would be armed with tanks and armored personnel carriers. A Spetsnaz unit within the battalion was also formed. The unit has been re-designated as the 3rd Reserve Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine after being integrated into regular forces, but the Spetsnaz company remained.

Commanders

New recruits will undergo an initial two-week compressed training course, covering a range of areas from firearms and unarmed combat, to map reading and communications. Those signing up to be full-time members of the Guard will receive at least an additional four weeks of training. For those part-time members who complete their two-week training and return to their communities to await call-up, the authorities appear to be planning to implement a variation of the March battalion system; based where possible around existing civilian militias and armed groupings. Most of those use the sotnya as their basic unit, as does the National Guard itself.
In March 2015, the National Guard of Ukraine received training from the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. The training took place at the Yavoriv training center near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The 173rd Airborne paratroopers trained the Ukrainians on how to better defend themselves against "Russian and rebel artillery and rockets." Training also included securing roads, bridges, and other infrastructure and treating and evacuating casualties.
Officers and NCOs of the NGU are trained under the aegis of the National Guard Military Academy of Ukraine.

Ranks and insignia

Officers
Other Ranks and NCOs

Equipment