The 18th Public Order Protection Battalion is battalion of the 11th Public Order Protection Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine tasked with law enforcement and maintenance of public order. It was established in 1996 in Yalta but temporarily ceased to exist following the defection of the majority of its personnel to Russia including its commander in 2014 but was reestablished in 2017. It is currently headquartered in Izmail.
| 18th Public Order Protection Battalion | |
|---|---|
| 18-й окремий батальйон НГ (Ukrainian) | |
 Battalion Insignia | |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Allegiance | .png){kind=small} Ministry of Internal Affairs |
| Branch |  National Guard of Ukraine |
| Type | Battalion |
| Role | Law enforcement and protection of Ukrainian territorial integrity |
| Part of |  11th Public Order Protection Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Izmail |
| Engagements | Russo-Ukrainian war |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Major Rufanov Yevgeny Oleksandrovich |
| Notable commanders | Colonel Andriy Kovtun  |
History
editThe battalion was established in Yalta on 5 October 1996 as a part of the Internal Troops of Ukraine with Major Volodymyr Kondratiev as its first commander. It was tasked to protect public order on the streets of the cities of Yalta, Alupka, and Gaspra and also to participate in various operations to ensure the safety of high-ranking state officials, participants in international meetings and conferences, sports events, leisure facilities and socio-political events in Yalta and other cities of Crimea. It successfully apprehended hundreds of criminals and thousands of administrative offenses were averted by the battalion's actions in law enforcement. In addition, the Battalion also carried out search and rescue operations during disasters. From December 2013 to February 2014, the entire battalion was deployed to maintain public order during the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv and then returned to Crimea following the end of deployment.[1]
Following the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, a large number of the battalion's personnel including the battalion's commander Oleg Karptsov defected to Russia.[2]
On 8 April 2014, the defectors of the battalion established themselves as a battalion of the Internal Troops of Russia with Lieutenant Colonel Andriy Kovtun as their commander and took oath to Russia in May 2014. From 2 to 10 April 2015, the defected battalion took part in the Russian exercise "Zaslin-2015".[3]
In Ukraine, the battalion was however reestablished on the basis of the 4th battalion of the 11th Public Order Brigade in August 2018.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Battalion saw combat against Russian forces during the Siege of Mariupol.[10] During the Siege of Mariupol, a soldier of the brigade (Kunytskyi Timur Mykolayovych) was killed on 26 March 2022.[11] On 9 May 2022, another soldier of the battalion (Pantelii Ivanovich Boshkov) was killed during the Siege of Azovstal.[12][13][14]
Structure
editThe structure of the battalion is as follows:[15]
- Battalion Headquarters
- 1st Patrol Company
- 2nd Patrol Company
- Logistics Platoon
Commanders
edit- Major Volodymyr Kondratiev (1996-?)
- Colonel Andriy Kovtun
(?-2014)[a] - Lieutenant Colonel Andriy Ivanovich Boyko (2018–2023)
- Major Rufanov Yevgeny Oleksandrovich (2023-)
Sources
edit- "Батальон Нацгвардии в Измаиле год спустя, после основания: личный состав увеличился, подразделение стало отдельной воинской частью". gorod24.info. Gorod 24. 2018-10-12. Archived from the original on 2019-08-26. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- "Территорию батальона Нацгвардии в Измаиле сегодня "оккупировали"…школьники". bessarabiainform.com/. Bessarabia Inform. 2019-03-22. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- В Ізмаїлі гвардійці влаштували день відкритих дверей Archived 25 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Notes
edit- ^ Currently the commander of the defected part of the battalion
References
edit- ^ "Військова частина 3058 (м. Гаспра)". vv.gov.ua/. Internal Troops of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2014-09-01. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ "Доля підрозділів МВС України у АРК Крим та м. Севастополь після 16 березня 2014 р." vgolos.com.ua/. Vgolos. 2014-03-16. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Батальйону внутрішніх військ МВС Росії в місті Ялті вручать Бойовий прапор Archived 28 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Командувач НГУ розповів про можливість створення підрозділу Нацгвардії в Ізмаїлі". ngu.gov.ua. National Guard of Ukraine. 2017-06-10. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ "В Ізмаїл вводять додатковий підрозділ Нацгвардії: запобігти дестабілізації". pravda.com.ua. Ukrainian Pravda. 2017-06-10. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ "Военно-морской лицей в Измаиле ликвидируют: в его здании разместится батальон Нацгвардии". Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "МВС планує розгортати підрозділи Нацгвардії в двох районах Одеської області". ngu.gov.ua/. National Guard of Ukraine. 2017-09-12. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ "В Измаиле вместо военно-морского лицея разместили батальон Нацгвардии". dumskaya.net/. Dumskaya. 2017-09-13. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Національна гвардія Ізмаїлу отримала нову спецтехніку". uprom.info/. Uprom. 2018-02-14. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ Війна. Початок. Маріуполь
- ^ "На Одещині родині загиблого гвардійця вручили орден "За мужність"". Archived from the original on 2023-07-29. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ "На півдні Одещини відкрили меморіальну дошку загиблому гвардійцю – оборонцю Маріуполя". Yug Today. 2023-05-09. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ Ковальова, Ганна (2022-12-06). "ЗАВТРА КУБЕЙСЬКА ГРОМАДА ПРОВОДИТЬ В ОСТАННЮ ПУТЬ ЗАХИСНИКА МАРІУПОЛЯ". Махала (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №431/2022
- ^ Измаил чествовал нацгвардейцев Archived 2020-02-19 at the Wayback Machine на http://izmail-city.org/ Archived 2019-11-11 at the Wayback Machine