Original formation The National Guard of Ukraine was originally created by the Law of Ukraine "On the National Guard of Ukraine" dated 4 November 1991, No. 1775 -XII. It was created on the basis of part of the
Internal Troops of the Soviet Union in the
Ukrainian SSR, while the
Internal Troops of Ukraine also was established at almost the same time in 1992 as parts of the Ukrainian branch of the old Soviet Internal Troops. The National Guard claimed to inherit the traditions and legacy of the Gendarmerie of the
Ukrainian People's Republic, which existed from 1918 to 1919. During its early existence, the National Guard was indirectly involved in the
Transnistria War of the
Transnistria conflict during the spring and summer of 1992, helping to defend the border against a threatened spill-over of the conflict into Ukraine. Formations involved were the 3rd, 4th and 5th divisions NGU (equipment transferred from the 93rd Motorized Rifle Division was also used in this deployment). Afterwards, up until 1998, National Guard units backed up the
border guards in anti-smuggling operations conducted on the border with Moldova and Moldova's breakaway
Transnistria region. In 1994, the National Guard was also involved in the
1992–1994 Crimean Crisis, which was an attempt by the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea to declare itself sovereign after the
1991 Crimean sovereignty referendum. The National Guard was sent to restore order and Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea. In 1995, there were calls for the dissolution of the National Guard by political opponents of President
Leonid Kuchma, who accused him of dictatorial behavior after he resubordinated the guard to himself by decree. After Kuchma's re-election after the
1999 Ukrainian presidential election, the opposition continued to demand the extinction of the National Guard, which was done in 2000 as part of a concession to the opposition by Kuchma and justified as part of a "cost-saving scheme". The National Guard was dissolved by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine" dated 11 January 2000, and merged with the Internal Troops of Ukraine, while some NGU formations were reassigned to the
Armed Forces of Ukraine and thus were included in the order of battle of the
Ukrainian Ground Forces. The National Guard was recreated in accordance with the
Law of Ukraine "On the National Guard of Ukraine" [Law number 4393] dated 12 March 2014, On 16 March, the
Yatsenyuk Government announced plans to recruit 10,000 people within the next 15 days for the by now revived National Guard. Individual volunteers were also accepted. , July 9 2014 The 2014 law provided for an initial authorised strength of 33,000 personnel. It also tasks the National Guard with maintaining public order, protecting sites like nuclear power plants and "upholding the constitutional order and restoring the activity of state bodies", in part a reference to the situation in Crimea, as well as to the perceived Russian threat to Ukraine as a whole. In the eastern parts of the country in particular, not only will the National Guard reinforce regular military units defending against a feared Russian invasion, it will also be expected to uphold Part 1 of Art. 109 of the
Criminal Code of Ukraine (i.e. it is intended to act as a
counterinsurgency force against
fifth columnists and
infiltrators). The National Guard will be receiving a large proportion of the money from the emergency budgetary reprogramming approved by parliament for the funding of weapons procurement, equipment repair, and training (said reprogramming is equivalent to $600 million in 2014 Dollars). It is hoped that, eventually, the strength of the National Guard will rise to 60,000 personnel. The pay for National Guard regulars is approximately 214 Euros ($297) a month, equivalent to an average Ukrainian's monthly income. Officers receive about twice that amount. There are also some attached Internal Troops personnel, mostly for training and/or logistical support purposes, e.g.
K-9 teams that have been taking part in training and demonstration sessions. During the
ongoing war in the
Donbas region of Ukraine, the forces of the revived National Guard have fought against pro-Russian separatists and Russian troops disguised as separatists. Due to lack of reserves, earlier in the conflict willing civilians and political groups created their own
militias and
paramilitary groups, known as the "
Volunteer Battalions", to fight the separatists on their own. The Battalions were credited to have held the line against the separatists and allowed the National Guard and the
Armed Forces to reorganize and strike back. Some of the Battalions were placed under the aegis of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs , 2019. In May, the National Guard saw one of its first combat operations at the
First Battle of Mariupol, where they clashed with pro-Russia militants and demonstrators during the
unrest in Mariupol. They first attempted to occupy several government buildings before they were routed by National Guard riot troops, but soon the unrest evolved into heavy fighting between government and separatist militia forces. Around the same time on May, separatist troops captured the terminal buildings of
Donetsk International Airport, the National Guard circled the separatist forces, issuing an ultimatum demanding the surrender of the separatists — which was denied — and the
paratroopers launched an assault on the airport. The incident became known as the
First Battle of Donetsk Airport. On the same month, National Guard
Major General Serhiy Kulchytsky was killed during the
Siege of Sloviansk, when his helicopter was shot down by separatists. On early June, a
Border Guard base and a National Guard were besieged in Luhansk and after 10 hours of battle the base fell after the guardsmen ran out of ammunition. On October 13, several National Guards troops protested outside the Ukrainian
presidential administration building in Kyiv, they demanded the end of conscription and their own demobilisation. According to
Kyiv Post, many of the protesters were former
Internal Troops who had clashed with
Euromaidan protesters, and they were not in favour of that movement or the new government. Three National Guardsmen died in a riot on 31 August 2015 at the
Verkhovna Rada when a policeman on leave threw a grenade outside the facade. According to official figures, by mid-April 2016, the Interior Ministry and the National Guard have lost 308 personnel since the
war in Donbas broke out, including 108 from the
National Guard's volunteer battalions.
Russo-Ukrainian War Beginning Thursday, 24 February 2022, the day the Russian Armed Forces invaded Ukraine, the NGU has been active in many of the land battles fought by Ukrainian forces during the current war. On the first day of the war, the
Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) attempted an
air assault on the
Antonov Airport in
Hostomel, northwest
Kyiv, in order to do an
air lift and bring more troops and heavier equipment to the capital in a military engagement that became known as the
Battle of Antonov Airport. In the initial phases of the assault, the VDV expelled a small garrison of the National Guard and took control of the airport. However, the
4th Rapid Reaction Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard swiftly reacted by launching an extensive counter-attack, using armored vehicles and artillery, that encircling the unsupported Russian troops and repelled the attack. The airport was captured by a renewed Russian offensive the next day, but the airport was rendered unusable by battle damage. The actions of the 4th Brigade were credited with preventing the quick capitulation of
Kyiv, and led to the
Russian offensive on Kyiv stalling and eventually withdrawing. But later reports indicated they were captured and locked in a bunker for 30 days. On 6 April, the Ukrainians officially announced the National Guard had retaken and reestablished control over the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The
Azov Regiment was heavily involved in the
Siege of Mariupol, being one of the primary defenders of the city. The other units of the National Guard defending the city were the and the
12th Operational Brigade. The Azov's origins as a
neonazi and
ultranationalist militia, and its legitimization by the Ukrainian government and inclusion in the official structure of the National Guard has been a point of contention. It has been used by Russia to paint the Ukrainian government as Nazi-leaning, as justification for the brutality in
Mariupol and as a
casus belli for the invasion itself. After the retreat of Russian forces from the Kyiv axis, the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade was redeployed to
Eastern Ukraine, to fight on the
eastern front of the war. In the east, unit was involved at the
Battle of Severodonetsk and
Lysychansk, where they fought a month-long defense of the twin cities. And later in the year, the unit was deployed at
Bakhmut to fight in the grueling
Battle of Bakhmut. The National Guard began the raising of an additional 6 "
Offensive Guard" Infantry Brigades in February 2023 to bolster its fighting forces under the recommendation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the remaining two under other agencies. These brigades, unlike those under Army wartime control, report directly to NGU General Headquarters in Kyiv through operational commanders. Under these circumstances, and with most of the former Azov Regiment veterans of Mariupol (by now released if living) and other battles now reporting under the Armed Forces' overall command, the regiment was reflagged and reactivated, this time, as a National Guard Offensive Infantry Brigade, organized in like manner as the rest of its fellow brigades. Its success resulted in the raising of two NGU Corps-level commands in 2025 to better coordinate its military operations. == Structure ==