The Scorpion Separate Special Purpose Regiment is a

Special Operations Force Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; , ; /NHU ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the dire ...

tasked with protection of strategic objectives notably the nuclear power plants, military industrial complex, chemical and nuclear research institutions amongst others. It was established in 1998 as a part of the

Internal Troops of Ukraine The Internal Troops of Ukraine (; ), abbreviated VV (), were a uniformed gendarmerie and Internal Troops in Ukraine. They were subordinate to the Chief Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), Ministry of Internal Affairs (the count ...

and is headquartered in

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, ...

. It is a highly secretive unit and its operations are highly classified.

History

The unit was established in 1998 in order to overcome the threat of

international terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war ag ...

and

domestic terrorism Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

, the regiment was established tasked with the protection and defense of high-risk objects as Ukraine has developed

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...

, so the

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s can theoretically become the target of a terrorist attack. Its main task is to ensure technological security. "Scorpion" is a

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

unit and hence conducts anti-terrorist measures in conditions of immediate threat but in some cases the personnel can take up the duty of protection and defense. Following are the major tasks of the regiment:Спецпідрозділ «Скорпіон»
/ref> * Counterterrorism operations on; **

Nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s **

Nuclear research Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

facilities **

Nuclear fuel Nuclear fuel refers to any substance, typically fissile material, which is used by nuclear power stations or other atomic nucleus, nuclear devices to generate energy. Oxide fuel For fission reactors, the fuel (typically based on uranium) is ...

and

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

material storage sites * Escort and transport of

material * Protection and Defense of the

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine border, a ...

* Assistance to Armed Forces and Paramilitaries of Ukraine in defense of vital strategic objectives Due to the operational nature of the regiment, its operations are always kept secret.

Sites guarded by the regiment

The sites guarded by the Scorpion regiment are: * 4

Nuclear Power Plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s *

* 3 Nuclear Research Reactor Stations * 9

Military–industrial complex The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the Arms industry, defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving fac ...

sites *

Chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...

research institutes * Special Cargo including

Radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

materials

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas Regiments of the National Guard of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 1998 Special forces of Ukraine