The Special Purpose Battalion "Sonechko" is a volunteer special operations unit. One of the

spetsnaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

units of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, the unit was established in 2014. Composed mostly of volunteers from

Zakarpattia Oblast Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпаття; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kárpátalja'') or Transcar ...

, the unit conducts special reconnaissance, sabotage, and other covert operations. It is a part of Tymur Special Operations Detachment.

History

The battalion started as a self-organized volunteer militia in 2014, following the

Russian invasion of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrain ...

. Its personnel fought in the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

, such as near

Bilohorivka Bilohorivka () may refer to several settlements in Ukraine * Bilohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, a village * Bilohorivka, a former village in Donetsk Oblast that was disestablished in 2008 * Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast, an urban-type settlement * , ...

Avdiivka Avdiivka (, ; , ) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the centre of the oblast, just north of the regional centre, Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city had a population of before th ...

, Pisky and other areas. It was associated with

Right Sector Right Sector () is a loosely defined coalition of right-wing to far-right Ukrainian nationalist organizations. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organizations at the Euroma ...

and once in

Mukachevo Mukachevo (, ; , ; see name section) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated in the valley of the Latorica River and serves as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion. The city is a rail terminus and highway junct ...

over some disputes in 2015; two personnel of the battalion were killed. On 24 February 2022, the unit announced full mobilization and set off for

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, ...

to partake in the Battle of Kyiv following which it took part in the

2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive On September 6, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a major counteroffensive against the Russian military during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As Ukraine announced the start of the 2022 Kherson counteroffensive, Kherson counteroffensi ...

and the

2022 Kherson counteroffensive A military counteroffensive was launched by Ukraine on 29 August 2022 to expel Russian forces occupying the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. Military analysts consider the counteroffensive to be the third strategic phase of th ...

as well as the

Battle of Bakhmut The battle of Bakhmut was a major battle between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian Armed Forces for control of the city of Bakhmut, during the eastern Ukraine campaign, a theatre of the Russian invasion of Uk ...

and the Battle of Avdiivka. The battalion arrived in Kyiv and took up the duties of conducting mainly sabotage and reconnaissance operations; it struck the Russian Kyiv convoy and conducted recon operations in the Battle of Lyutish,

Battle of Irpin As part of the Russian offensive on Kyiv during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a battle took place for control of the city of Irpin. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forces. By 28 March 2022 Ukrai ...

and the

Battle of Bucha The battle of Bucha was part of the Kyiv offensive (2022), Kyiv offensive in the Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of the city of Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, Bucha. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forc ...

. By late March 2022, the battalion was conducting clearance operations in liberated villages, clearing houses and basements. During one such operation, Russian tanks struck the battalion's forces killing one and wounding several more."Виконуємо інструкції, написані кров'ю": розповідь волинянина з розвідбату "Сонечко"
/ref> During the

, the battalion commander was wounded during an assault on Russian positions near Kozacha Lopan. In August 2022, soldiers of the battalion captured a Russian

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

B tank during an operation in

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

. In September 2022, it was conducting special operations throughout the front. The battalion took part in the

2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a Counter-offensive, counteroffensive against Russian forces Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupying its territory with a goal of breaching the front lines ...

. On 26 June 2023, a soldier of the battalion (Stepan Shapchenko) was killed in combat in

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

while partaking in the

. In February 2024, the battalion was seeing heavy combat. On 30 May 2024, Russian media reported that four soldiers of the battalion had been taken captive during the Battle of Vovchansk.

Commanders

* Ruslan Kahanets (-2023)Dozens of Ukrainian troops killed in Russian ballistic missile attack
/ref> * Oleksandr (surname unknown) (2024-)

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2014 Far-right politics in Ukraine Ministry of Defence (Ukraine) Special forces of Ukraine Battalions of Ukraine Military of Ukraine 2014 establishments in Ukraine