The Rapid Operational Response Unit (), commonly abbreviated KORD (), is a special purpose unit of the

National Police of Ukraine The National Police of Ukraine (, ; /NPU ), often simply referred to as the (), is the national, and only, police service of Ukraine. It was formed on 3 July 2015, as part of the post-Euromaidan reforms launched by Ukrainian president Petro Por ...

History

KORD was created as a

special police Special police usually describes a law enforcement agency or unit within a such an agency whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same nation, jurisdiction, or from other personnel within the same agen ...

force for the then-recently created

. Recruitment and training started in 2015 and in 2016 the first units were formed. KORD received training from special police units from the United States, specially from the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domes ...

and US Marshals. Support was overseen by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. KORD conducted its training exercise on November 3, 2016 at

Boryspil International Airport The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...

with the State Border Guard Service's Dozor unit.

Organisation

Its structure is based on

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

units in various American police forces. In the summer of 2024, KORD was reformed into a Special Purpose Police Brigade, taking advantage of its current military role while retaining police ranking and uniforms with operational control over units organized in the cities. The KORD Brigade will be organized on military lines with its own formations directly reporting to brigade headquarters.

Duties

It is designed to respond to emergency situations, the level of which is so high and complex that it may exceed the capabilities of other

rapid reaction force A rapid reaction force / rapid response force (RRF), quick reaction force / quick response force (QRF), immediate reaction force (IRF), rapid deployment force (RDF), or quick maneuver force (QMF) is a military or law enforcement unit capable of ...

s or operational search units.

Missions

Among the main missions of KORD are: * Developing, preparing, and conducting special operations to capture dangerous criminals * Suppressing crimes committed by members of criminal groups * Rescuing hostages * Providing force support in the conduct of operative-search actions * Providing support to other police units to ensure superior firepower over offenders * Taking part in anti-terrorist operations conducted by the Anti-terrorist Centre of the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

* Studying and summarizing domestic and foreign experience, as well as the methods of work of similar foreign units in this area * Ensuring the implementation of security measures for persons involved in criminal proceedings

Organization

KORD soldiers during anti-terrorist training

KORD's main headquarters is in Kyiv with various regions having a regional office.

Engagements

KORD participated in anti-terrorist Operations in

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...

. KORD has been involved in fighting in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, where the

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

units ambushed Russian tanks and BMPs at the Kyiv offensive and at

Brovary Brovary (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Kyiv Oblast, northern Ukraine, situated to the east of the capital Kyiv and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It serves as the administrative centre of Brovary Raion. Brovary hosts t ...

. For their actions, the KORD operators were awarded military awards by

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

. In February 2022, KORD received Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles and small arms equipment from the US Embassy.

In popular culture

KORD features in the opening scenes of '' Tenet'' (2020), during a terrorist attack at a

opera.

References

External links

Official website
of National Police {{Authority control Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine) Non-military counterterrorist organizations 2016 establishments in Ukraine