Reservist Day of Ukraine: how the National Guard created a powerful military reserve with combat experience
Today, May 18, the Day of the Reservist is celebrated in Ukraine. This is a holiday for those who are ready at any time to replenish the ranks of the defenders of Ukraine. The creation of the necessary military reserve is one of the strategic goals of the defense reform of the state.
Reserve units of the National Guard of Ukraine are a powerful potential of the national army and its reliable support in deterring large-scale aggression from the enemy.
Service in the military reserve of the National Guard of Ukraine was introduced in 2014. The staffing of reservists took place in the conditions of a special period, during the involvement of parts and compounds in the anti-terrorist operation in the east of Ukraine.
The first reservists of the National Guard of Ukraine were volunteers from the Maidan Self-Defense. They were trained at the National Guard training ground in Novi Petrivtsi. The combat training and coordination of volunteers was led by the Head of the Department of Combat and Special Training of the Main Directorate of the National Guard of Ukraine Major General Serhiy Kulchytskyi. In April 2014, after taking the oath, 360 reservists became part of the 1st reserve battalion of the operational purpose of the NGU. In May of the same year, the 2nd reserve battalion of the operational purpose of the NGU was formed, in which 477 reservists served.
In June 2014, the 1st and 2nd operational battalions of military unit 3027 were transferred to military unit 3066 and the 1st operational battalion (reserve) (named after Major General S. P. Kulchitsky), and as part of the military unit 3027 a special purpose battalion (reserve) (“Donbass”) was created, to which 581 reservists were assigned.
In May-June 2014, operational battalions (reserve battalions) were created under:
— military unit 1241 (m. Ivano-Frankivsk) of the Western Operational and Territorial Union of the National Guard of Ukraine. — military unit 3017 (m.
Kharkiv) of the Eastern Operational and Territorial Association of the National Guard of Ukraine.
In September 2014 (reserve platoons) were created under the military units for the protection of NPP 3041, 3042, 3044, 3045. In February 2015, a special purpose company (reserve company) of military unit 3033 (m.
Berdyansk) of the Southern Operational and Territorial Association.
For comprehensive medical support of units of the National Guard of Ukraine in the area of the anti-terrorist operation, medical companies (reserve companies) were created.
In total, 1,635 reservists were enlisted in the National Guard of Ukraine.
In February 2015, in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated January 14, 2015 No. 15, reservists were called up for military service during mobilization. In total, 1,311 reservists were drafted into the National Guard of Ukraine for military service during the mobilization.
Losses during the ATO category of reservists amounted to 96 people. The National Guard of Ukraine remembers and honors the memory of every defender of Ukraine.
Currently, the military reserve of the National Guard of Ukraine consists of:
reservists who have entered into a contract for service in the military reserve with commanders of military units (in total, more than 4 thousand reservists have signed a contract);
OR-1 reservists (conscripts) who were necessarily enlisted for service in the military reserve and are on separate military registration in the military units of the NGU and territorial centers of staffing and social support on a territorial basis.
In total, more than 25 thousand people are enrolled in the OR-1 of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Since 2016, meetings with reserves have been held at the NGU on an ongoing basis.
Reservists who serve on a voluntary basis consciously choose military affairs, enter into a contract with the state, and undergo systematic training. The important thing is that in the National Guard it is possible to choose a military unit to serve in the military reserve.
Persons contracted to serve in the military reserve will be included in the lists of those military units where they wish and, in the case of mobilization or assembly, will arrive directly to the military units of the National Guard, bypassing the territorial centers of staffing and social support (former military commissariat atates).
For reference: The Day of the Reservist of Ukraine was established on April 19, 2019 by the President of Ukraine, taking into account the important role of reservists in the defense of the Fatherland, its independence and territorial integrity, their readiness at any time to join the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations in order to ensure the strengthening of the defense capability of our country in periods when she needs it the most.
Press service of the NGU
