Despite the fact that the military conflict in Donbass has been going on for several years, Ukraine is only starting to "build up muscle" now. We are talking about the creation of territorial defense units (TPO).
Does the state need territorial defense, in what form does this model operate in European states and for what reasons are Ukrainian men, in particular, participants in the anti-terrorist operation, in no hurry to sign contracts for military service? All these questions require answers.
First of all, it should be noted that as recently as a month ago, the Ukrainian parliament was considering a bill on the reorganization of Ukrainian military registration and enlistment offices and renaming them "territorial centers of recruitment and social support." But this bill did not receive the required number of votes. The situation could not even be corrected by numerous consultations during an unplanned break. And, as experts note, the rejection of this law may well lead to the impossibility of improving the model of territorial defense, tied directly to the commissariats.
The beginning of 2019 was marked by the adoption of certain organizational decisions aimed at the transition to the brigade structure of the territorial defense model. The command of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, therefore, carried out a number of organizational measures that provide for the organization of territorial defense units (brigades) in each administrative-territorial unit of the Ukrainian state as structural components of the Ukrainian army.
As the representative of the command of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Army and Territorial Defense Andriy Bevzyuk notes, it is precisely by organizing territorial defense units, attracting and training patriotically motivated people that one can hope for the organization of security in Ukraine and guarantees of a peaceful life, and in addition, significantly increase the country's defense capability.
It is assumed that the reservists of the second stage will be recruited into the brigades. For the purpose of the timely deployment of territorial defense units, it is envisaged to organize personnel management departments of such military units, which will be subordinate to the military commissariats of the districts or regions in which they are located.
It should be noted that up to this time in Ukraine there were already social structures that united people who were ready, if necessary, to take up arms and defend the country. One of these organizations is the Ukrainian Legion. It was created in 2014 by several former officers. The organization was actively supported by the Association of Weapons Owners. After the first trial sessions were held, the formation of the training program and the definition of the main goals of the organization began: conducting military training for everyone and assisting the structure of the territorial defense of the state.
Anyone can take the initial one-month course at the Ukrainian Legion, without even indicating their real name. The theory classes are held twice a week, and on the weekend there is one practice session. Such classes are akin to the school course of basic military training: since they provide general information about the Ukrainian armed forces and their functioning, about the application of regulations, etc.
Throughout this course, people are taught everything they might encounter in the military. These are the standard tactics of action in small groups, the simplest skills of providing medical assistance in combat conditions, and the handling of weapons. According to the head of the "Ukrainian Legion" Oleksiy Sannikov, at this stage it makes no sense to teach any serious practices taken in the American military regulations or the Israeli IDF.
After completing the introductory course, all those who wish to continue training can become a member of the organization. However, at this stage, the requirements for candidates are already much more stringent. There can be no question of any anonymity. Candidates are carefully checked, information about them is searched for on the Internet and social networks. If the candidacy after verification does not cause any doubts, the person becomes a member of the Ukrainian Legion and gets the opportunity to start more serious training: he gets acquainted with some of the main tasks of territorial defense - learns to work at checkpoints and learns combat tactics in the city.
The head of the organization himself underwent this training back in 2014, although until that time he could not even imagine that someday in his life he would have to be related to military affairs. Behind Sannikov's shoulders was only the military department of the university, after which he received the rank of officer. It was useful to him in the organization. After completing the introductory course, Sannikov was appointed commander of the training unit, later he became deputy head of the "Legion", and then the leader.
For the entire period, while the organization exists, about four thousand people have been trained in it. The Legion is based on 300-400 people who live in Kharkov, Lvov and Kiev, where the organization has its branches.
From the moment the organization was founded, its leadership was aware of the need for coordinated work with the army to maximize the effective support of territorial defense. Therefore, contact was established with the Ukrainian military and it was proposed to cooperate with Estonia, where the volunteer defense unit "Defense League" operates.
Despite the fact that this unit is a structural part of the Estonian armed forces, it is still a public organization, whose cadets undergo training under the guidance of army instructors, receive small arms and equipment (including body armor, SUVs, helmets), and the state provides the necessary funding … Thus, the unit is able to respond quickly and efficiently to threats within a few hours, since each fighter has everything he needs. And the only thing that is needed is to unite in groups and start active actions. The main task of such units is to gain a certain amount of time needed to mobilize the regular army.
However, in the Ukrainian case, effective cooperation did not work out. The military did not receive direct instructions from above. When in 2014-2015 a presidential decree was published on the creation of a TRO, they tried to involve the population in territorial defense units, cooperating with military commissariats, however, as it turned out, the regulatory framework and all documents in military enlistment offices were written for peacetime, despite the actual military conflict. According to these documents, military officials worked.
In 2014, those "legionnaires" who did not go to the zone of hostilities decided to join the territorial defense units at the military commissariats, which were supposed to be formed according to Soviet standards. In the event that martial law was declared in the country, these units were entrusted with the implementation of secondary tasks that "make life easier" for the National Guard and the regular army: ensuring the protection of facilities and conducting patrols. After receiving documents and trying to contact those who were on the lists of the military reserve, it turned out that the territorial defense, organized through military commissariats, was on paper, and there were almost no living people in it.
The thing is that most of the reservists were once registered with military commissariats, but many have moved, migrated or simply died. Therefore, it was simply impossible to determine the relevance of the database. And, as it turned out, this state of affairs can lead to very sad consequences. An example of this is Mariupol. When weapons were delivered in the summer of 2014 in the hope of forming terrorist detachments, it turned out that there was no one to recruit, because after all the reservists had called, 40 people answered, a dozen and a half arrived at the collection point, and only three took up arms. This is exactly what the territorial defense, organized on paper, looks like, according to Sannikov.
Ultimately, most legionnaires became disillusioned when faced with a bureaucratic system.
To date, there are several effective defense structures in the world. In the process of developing its structure, Ukraine took the Baltic countries and Switzerland as a reference point, where each person is a reservist, ready to replenish military units at the first signal.
The system of territorial defense that has begun to form in Ukraine can be analyzed using the example of the capital. For almost a year now, a brigade unit of territorial defense has existed in Kiev, which includes 6 battalions. The complete set of the unit is entrusted to the military commissariats. The brigade, according to the list, consists of four thousand people. According to the documents, the brigade is fully staffed, but its leadership understands that in reality the situation is much worse. For this reason, at the moment, the main task is to make sure that all the people on the list really exist, understand the essence of terrorist defense and can arrive at the training points on the first call (once a year, one to two weeks).
Those on the rosters should ideally have a 3-year standby service contract. Then the person is credited with payments, and at the headquarters there is genuine information about the presence of people in the units. Such a model is the most optimal under the current conditions, since many who were previously ready for territorial defense later changed their minds. And the signing of a contract will automatically mean that a person can be counted on.
Currently, only about 5 percent of all contracts have been signed. It is assumed that by the end of the year this figure will increase to 30 percent, and in 2020 all 100 percent should be closed. On the one hand, work in this direction began quite recently, so there is nothing surprising in low rates, at first glance, there seems to be no. However, the main reason lies in something completely different - people have lost confidence in the military leadership. In Kiev alone, there are about 27 thousand ATO participants who have the necessary skills and sufficient combat experience. It would be logical to assume that these people should form the basis of territorial defense and, without much effort, close all 100% of the list. However, in practice, most of them have great doubts about the effectiveness of the proposed territorial defense structure and that such units will not begin to close the "holes" in the combat zone.
And there are quite justified reasons for such doubts. The fact is that in 2014, the Kiev territorial defense unit was sent to the ATO zone almost immediately after its formation, although this was contrary to the very essence of the model.
Therefore, today the main task, as the Ukrainian speakers note, boils down to the need to convince the Ukrainians that the terrorist defense is honorable, and not scary, that it is a real necessity in the face of the constant threat of an escalation of the conflict. But such persuasion is most likely not very convincing. So, for example, last fall, according to Colonel Sergei Klyavlin, the military commissar of Kiev, about 50% of the plan's conscripts were called up for military service. And the turnout of enrolled personnel and conscripts to recruiting stations was very low and amounted to only 8%. According to the Ukrainian military official, the main reason for the low turnout is a general rather negative attitude towards service in the Ukrainian army and a decrease in patriotic sentiments.
The problem also lies in the lack of the necessary military skills for effective work with the civilian population, so they cannot cope with the task of persuading people to join the terrorist units. And the military problems themselves have more than enough. Equipment and weapons need constant updating, but there is no funding. Therefore, the allocation of funds for the creation of a system of territorial defense is not considered to be a primary task.
Great difficulties also arise with employers, who, fearing to lose employees for a long time, in every possible way prevent people from wanting to enroll in terrorist units.
According to Sergei Klyavlin, the problem will be solved if employers are brought to administrative responsibility for creating obstacles of this kind. In any case, as long as there is no corresponding official law on terrorist defense in Ukraine, there can be no question of any systematic work.
One of the most important issues that needs to be resolved in the SRW document is weapons. In most countries where effective models of thermal defense exist, fighters get their hands on all the necessary combat equipment, including small arms. But the Ukrainian military and political leadership doubts that such a thing is advisable in the conditions of Ukrainian reality, since it fears an increase in crime …
However, even the leadership of the Ukrainian Legion is convinced that these are just excuses, since there are relatively few crimes committed with the use of legal firearms. According to Sannikov, the country's leadership is simply afraid to arm the population, since it has doubts about its loyal attitude.
According to military officials, they are fully ready for dialogue, inviting all public structures interested in the creation of territorial defense to take part in the development of a draft law that would make it possible to form the most effective SRW system.
