Counterterrorist operations On 23 June 1994, on the orders of the
President of Ukraine (then
Leonid Kravchuk), Department «А» was created as a part of the Central Office of the Security Service of Ukraine. In the same time, regionals units were formed in all
Oblasts, giving start to the formation of Special Counterterrorist units under the command of SBU. On July 16, 1996, the first major reform of the unit took place. By decree of the President of Ukraine, Department «A» was renamed the Department for Combating Terrorism and Protecting Participants in Criminal Proceedings and Law Enforcement Officers of the
SBU. On December 27, 2005, a large-scale reform of the SBU's special operations departments took place. As a result of this reorganization, a modern Center for Special Operations to Combat Terrorism, Protect Participants in Criminal Proceedings, and Law Enforcement Officers was created. It was then that the unit received its well-known abbreviation, CSO "A" SBU. On July 31, 2000, in the building of the Kyiv disciplinary battalion, two violators of military discipline,
Ukrainian army servicemen Oleksandr Stankevych and Mykhailo Nevzorov, attacked a guard, seized an
AKM assault rifle with 60 rounds of ammunition, locked 18 people (the guard and their fellow servicemen) and demanded food and alcohol. After six hours of negotiations, a decision was made to storm the building, which was carried out by employees of the Kyiv Alfa unit. As a result of the assault, the criminals were detained. Since 2004, the center's fighters have been involved in ensuring the security of the Ukrainian embassy in
Baghdad (
Iraq). In total, more than 190 SBU employees have been sent on missions over the entire period. On October 1, 2011, a combat clash between SBU special forces and a local terrorist group took place in
Odesa. The day before, the criminals shot two and wounded four law enforcement officers. The armed criminals barricaded themselves in a hotel and resisted attempts by a police special forces unit to storm the building for more than four hours. The turning point came only after the intervention of fighters from the local CSO “A” unit. As a result of the operation, the criminals were neutralized. On July 21, 2020, in
Lutsk, a man armed with firearms and explosives
hijacked a bus with passengers. Operatives from the SBU's Special Operations Center “A” quickly arrived at the scene and began negotiations with the terrorist. Thanks to their professional actions, it was possible to avoid casualties among the hostages and detain the criminal.
War in Donbas In April 2014, in the aftermath of the
Revolution of Dignity, when Ukraine's Alpha snipers were alleged to shoot at the protesters, it was purged and reorganised, and deployed to fight against
pro-Russian separatist forces in the
war in Donbas. On April 13, 2014, the Joint Forces Operation “A” first engaged in armed conflict with pro-Russian militants near the city of
Sloviansk,
Donetsk oblast. Late April 2014 three officers were ambushed by members of the separatist armed groups led by pro-Russian terrorist
Igor Girkin in the town of
Horlivka, after which they were tortured; the SBU spokeswoman said the separatists acted on a tip from infiltrators inside the agency. As part of the anti-terrorist operation announced on the same day, the center's employees, in cooperation with other units of the Ukrainian security and defense sector, participated in stabilization and assault operations, in particular in the liberation of
Sloviansk,
Kramatorsk,
Mariupol, and other settlements temporarily occupied by
illegal armed groups. The SBU Alfa defector
Alexander Khodakovsky, a former Alfa commander for
Donetsk Oblast who had betrayed Ukraine along with several of his men and became the commander of the terrorist
Vostok Battalion and later was given the post of security minister of the separatist so-called "
Donetsk People's Republic". On April 15, 2014, the SBU's Special Operations Center “A” unit, together with the National Guard of Ukraine's “
Omega” special unit, took control of the strategically important airfield in
Kramatorsk without any losses. This allowed Ukrainian forces to ensure the airlift of personnel, equipment, and logistical support to the
ATO zone. During 2014–2021, SBU Special Operations Forces “A” fighters were systematically involved in combat missions in the area of the anti-terrorist operation and, later, the
Joint Forces Operation. The main areas of activity were the neutralization of sabotage groups, the detection and detention of members of illegal armed formations, as well as counter-sabotage and special operations behind enemy lines. The center's sniper units were deployed along the entire line of demarcation and carried out priority strikes on targets within the framework of interagency tasks coordinated by the ATO/JFO headquarters.
Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2024 During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Alpha group ambushed and destroyed a Russian military convoy in northern
Kyiv, around
Hostomel, composed of
Chechen paramilitary (the "
Kadyrovtsy") heading to the city. The Alpha Group was present in Kharkiv, defending the city at the
Battle of Kharkiv. During the
2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive, the Alpha Group re-captured several strategically crucial settlements such as
Kupiansk. CSO "A" also participated in the
Battle of Bahmut,
Batle of Sievierodonetsk,
Kursk campaign,
Battle of Avdiivka, took part in the
Snake Island campaign. " During
Operation Spider's Web, Alfa fighters operated the drones with which they hit at least 41 Russian aircraft, worth more than $7 billion. As of June 2025, Alpha Group units continued active hostilities in particular in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Separate forces were involved in offensive operations in the Kursk region The Alpha Group continued to develop tactics for UAV warfare. In June of 2025 they were the first to introduce fiber optic drones which are more impervious to electronic warfare countermeasures. The Unit attacked against Belbek Air Base, near Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea with FPVs on December 17th to 18th, 2025. The drones destroyed a Russian MiG-31BM Foxhound-B jet fighter, two long-range, 1L119 Nebo-SVU air defense radars, one 92N6 Grave Stone fire-control radar, s400, surface-to-air missile system, and Pantsir SA-22B Greyhound. The Alpha Group conducted operations to capture
fifth-columnists, Russian sympathizers, spies and infiltrators. Alpha Groups drone attacks on Russian air assets continued in 2026. On January 26, according to footage released by the SBU, the unit hit airbase with FPV drone attacks destroying planes. In late winter of 2026 the Alpha Unit attacked the port of Novorossiysk in Russia. FPV drones damaged a Russian warships, destroyed air defense systems, and left oil infrastructure engulfed in flames. The Sheskharis oil terminal in the port is one of the largest in southern Russia. ==Operational record==