Special Tasks Patrol Police (Ukraine)

History

List of Special Tasks Patrol Police units

• "Artemivsk" police battalion – formed in Dnepropetrovsk oblast
• "Bogdan" police company – was formed on 12 July 2014 in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. The company is largely composed of volunteers.
• "Chernihiv" police battalion – formed in Chernihiv oblast
• Dnipro Battalion – Also known as Dnepr-1 it was one of the first units to form and originated in Dnipropetrovsk. As Crimea was annexed and the pro-Russian insurgency began in eastern Ukraine it was believed that Dnipropetrovsk, a large Russian speaking city, would be quick to fall. Moreover, paratroopers of the 25th Airborne Brigade surrendered their equipment and retreated to Dnipropetrovsk on buses when tasked with engaging pro-Russian insurgents in Donetsk. This prompted governor Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Dnipropetrovsk mayor Ivan Kulichenko to quickly organize a defence for the city, also volunteer units began to form funded by various charities and oligarchs forming the Dnipro Battalion. The Dnipro Battalion has been fighting Russian insurgents in Luhansk and Donetsk oblast since its creation. Due to being one of the first units to form and the unit's proximity to the Donbass volunteers often received minimal training before deploying to engage insurgents. The battalion is subordinate to the Interior Ministry of Ukraine. On 9 October 2014 the unit carried out an operation in Telmanove resulting in the death of three Russian military operatives including Russian general Sergey Andreychenko, the highest ranking Russian soldier lost so far during the War in Donbass.
• "Ivano-Frankivsk" police battalion
• "Kharkiv" police battalion – formed in Kharkiv
• "Kremenchuk" police company – Formed from volunteers in the Poltava Oblast. It was named after the city of Kremenchuk and was created as a detachment of the Poltava Battalion, but eventually operated as a separate entity.
• "Kyiv-1" police battalion – formed in Kiev
• "Kyiv-2" police battalion – formed in Kiev
• "Kyivshchyna" police battalion – formed in Kiev oblast
• "Lugansk-1" police battalion
• Lviv police battalion – Formed in the western city of Lviv the unit is largely composed of Ukrainian speakers, although all volunteers are free to join. All members are lawful police officers of Ukraine. The battalion is composed of 150 volunteers and was officially deployed in July 2014. Volunteers must possess prior military experience and have received 3 months training before being deployed.
• "Myrotvorets" police battalion – formed in Kiev oblast
• "Poltava" police battalion. Formed from volunteers in the Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine. On 5 September 2014 "Myrnyi" police company was merged into "Poltava" police battalion
• "Saint Mary" police battalion – Originally a company of the "Shakhtarsk" police battalion. The battalion is linked to Dmytro Korchynsky's Bratstvo. Later "Jesus Christ Hundred" was merged into "Mariypol" Territorial defence battalion and reformed into "Saint Mary" police battalion
• "Shtorm" police battalion – formed in Odessa oblast
• Sich Battalion – Also known as the Sich Special Volunteer Battalion, named after the Sich of the Zaporozhian Cossacks is an all volunteer unit from Kyiv. The unit was formed by the Svoboda party in June 2014. It was deployed in August 2014 making it the newest defence battalion, it is also the smallest unit composed of 50 volunteers. All volunteers are required to have a military background and the unit was designed for anti-terror operations since its inception. The unit has been deployed to Sloviansk and has been responsible for clearing Russian terrorist cells in the city. On 30 September 2014 the unit supported a crowd of protesters in blocking city hall in a protest after the city's mayor appointed deputies who were associated with Party of Regions and president Viktor Yanukovich.
• "Sicheslav" police battalion – formed in Dnepropetrovsk oblast
• "Skif" police battalion – Formed from volunteers in Zaporizhia it is an all volunteer special police detachment designed to combat terrorism and is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Although it is a law enforcement unit all volunteers are capable of joining and police training is not required.
• "Svityaz" police battalion
• "Svyatyi Mykolai" police battalion – Formed in May 2014 from volunteers out of the Mykolaiv area of Ukraine
• "Zoloti Vorota" police battalion – formed in Kiev oblast

Former special police units

• "Shakhtarsk" police battalion – A former all volunteer territorial defence battalion of mostly former convicts from Donbass established in Shakhtarsk in June 2014. In October 2014 the unit was disbanded after 50 members of the battalion were accused of looting and hooliganism. The battalion was then resurrected as the "Tornado" police battalion.
• "Tornado" police battalion – After the "Shakhtarsk" police battalion was disbanded in October 2014 after 50 members of the battalion were accused of looting and hooliganism. it was resurrected as the "Tornado" police battalion. The battalion was about 100 people strong and most members were former convicts from Donbass. On 18 June 2015 the unit was disbanded after members were accused of crimes. Initially the battalion refused to stop operations and disarm. Former battalion members were accused and arrested for smuggling cast iron from territory under separatist control.