The Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov said it during the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the creation of the National Guard of Ukraine.  This special ceremony took place in the village Staroe, Kiev region, in the territory of a multipurpose training center.  In this center, the NGU combat units are being trained, and there are plans to organize here a drill training for joint interdepartmental special operations.

The ceremony was attended by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman, the NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov and the Commander of the National Guard Yuri Allerov.   The President presented state awards of Ukraine to 14 NGU servicemen.

The National Guard of Ukraine was established four years ago after the beginning of military aggression by the Russian Federation in the East of the country and the annexation of the Crimea.  The insufficient fighting capabilities of the then  Ukrainian army required the urgent formation of effective combat units that could stop the enemy.  The NGU ranks were manned by volunteers who have been sending to the training base directly from the Maidan.  Later they were joined by army reservists and by mobilized conscripts.  Gradually, within the National Guard were created the operational-tactical military formations, which included tank, artillery and air force units.

“The courage and bravery of NGU soldiers have repeatedly saved the country from internal provocations.  It is difficult even to count how many times your resistance to provocation, your endurance and courage prevented the enemy from achieving its criminal goals.  Today we see modern barracks, training centers, and equipment used by the national guardsmen.  During four years we have been working on updating the equipment and infrastructure for our servicemen.  And this year the Government promises to allocate from the state budget UAH 800 million to update the technical capabilities of NGU, and this is UAH 200 million more than last year.  We are doing this to ensure that high level of training of the NGU soldiers will enable them to serve the Ukrainian people with dignity”, – said Arsen Avakov.

The Minister emphasized that all assets that the National Guard possess are used exclusively to ensure public security and order, and not against their people:

“The NGU’s weaponry includes mortars, tanks, artillery and special equipment.  Similar equipment has the national guard and gendarme units throughout the world.  It should not be seen as the special training against a popular uprising.  All these efforts serve only one goal: to ensure that no special secret services of another country can provoke internal unrest or seize power in Ukraine All assets of the NSU’s units are directed solely at ensuring public security and order within the country.  I would like to emphasize that in the history of the National Guard there was no case when a guardsman used weapons against the people!”

During these four years, the NGU soldiers secured law and order at the 12,5 thousand different mass events.  The NGU details have detained more than 6.4 thousand people for committing criminal acts and about 30 thousand persons for administrative offenses.

Since the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation, more than 30,000 guardsmen have been brought to service.  Currently, about 5,000 NGU soldiers continue to perform service and combat missions on the second and third defensive lines.

“In 2014, a new military formation was born, whose fighters were the first to repel the enemy. I remember how the first oath was taken by the battalion, which was formed from the Maidan Self Defense Team fighters. They have passed the training course and immediately went to the front.  Since then, 794 soldiers were injured, 212 heroes were killed, and 182 posthumously awarded.  Three of them: Major General Sergey Kulchitsky, Lieutenant Bogdan Zavada, and soldier Evgeny Telnov were awarded the high title of Hero of Ukraine”, – said the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

To perpetuate the memory of the two outstanding defenders of Ukraine – the Cossack leader hetman Dmitry Vishnevetsky, and the Ukrainian warlord and statesman of Khmelnytsky’s time Colonel Ivan Bohun – two units of the NGU are named in their honor.

Taking into account military merits, courage, exemplary performance of assigned tasks and high professionalism of its personnel, the military unit No. 3057 of the NGU Eastern Territorial Tactical Command by the Presidential Decree was awarded the honorific title:

“18th operational regiment named after Dmitry Vishnevetsky of the National Guard of Ukraine”.

Military unit No. 3028 of the Western Command was given the honorary title:

“8th operational regiment named after Ivan Bohun of the National Guard of Ukraine”.

Reference information:

At the time of its creation, the National Guard of Ukraine had a small amount of obsolete weaponry and equipment. Over 70% of automotive equipment in military units had been in operation for more than 15 years.

During four years the arsenal of the NGU has been replenished with armored troop carriers BTR-3 and BTR-4, tanks T-64 and T-72, and armored vehicles KOZAK, COUGAR, SPARTAN, SHREK, STOIT.  In total, more than 360 pieces of new military armored equipment were purchased, as well as more than 2.3 thousand surveillance, aiming and fire control devices. Now the NGU’s air defense units are fully equipped with portable anti-aircraft missile systems.

Since 2014, the housing situation for the NGU servicemen has changed dramatically (previously no funds have been allocated for this purpose from the state budget).  In total, during 2015-2017 830 residential apartments were purchased by the state budget funds and handed over to the guardsmen.

Seven barracks and one medical unit were built and put into operation.  60 buildings and structures were repaired.

In 2015, the International Interdepartmental Multipurpose Training Center for NGU units was established in the village Staroe, Kiev region. It is a modern training base for tactical actions drills and weapons proficiency training in conditions close to real combat.

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The 18th operational regiment named after Dmitry Vishnevetsky is a part of the NGU Eastern Territorial Tactical Command.  It was formed in December 2014 on the basis of military unit No 3057 and fighters of Battalion “Donbass”, detachment “Azov” and other units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  It is located in the city of Mariupol, Donetsk region. 

Military unit No 3057 became known throughout the country on April 16, 2014, when soldiers have rebuffed an attempt of the supporters of the self-proclaimed DNR to seize the unit’s military base.

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The 8th operative regiment named after of Ivan Bohun (also known as Kalinovsky regiment) is a part of the NGU Western Territorial Tactical Command.  It is located in the city of Kalinovka, Vinnytsia region.  The regiment was formed in December 2014 on the basis of the internal troops special unit “Jaguar”. 

In case of aggravation of the situation on the state border, it can be used in coordinated actions with units of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

During the military conflict, the regiment acts as an assault detachment.  The regiment can conduct both defensive and offensive operations.

On the night of 7 to 8 April 2014, the “Jaguar” unit ran a special-forces raid to release the Kharkiv regional state administration from the separatists.

70 offenders were detained without a single shot or injured persons.