The Territorial Defence Forces ( TDF; , , ) are the

military reserve A military reserve, active reserve, reserve formation, or simply reserve, is a group of military personnel or units that is initially not committed to a battle by its commander, so that it remains available to address unforeseen situations or ex ...

component of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

. The Territorial Defence Forces were formed after the reorganization of the Territorial Defence Battalions, volunteer militias created during 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 ...

under the command of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. Territorial Defence units existed from 2015 until 2021 in semi-organized forms until 2022 when they were officially organized into a unified corps that formed a separate branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is formed by a core of part-time

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

s, usually former combat veterans, and in cases of war can be expanded to include local civilian volunteers for local defense, in a case of

mass mobilization Mass mobilization (also known as social mobilization or popular mobilization) refers to mobilization of civilian population as part of contentious politics. Mass mobilization is defined as a process that engages and motivates a wide range of partne ...

, with the core expected to lead the mobilized volunteers. The TDF was officially activated with the start of 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 ...

, and more than 100,000 civilians had volunteered by March. The International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine (ILTD), formed by foreign volunteers, was part of the Territorial Defense Forces up to 2023.

History

In 2014 the

suffered a series of military defeats; the Annexation of Crimea by Russia led to the takeover of the peninsula as most of the military either surrendered without resistance or defected to Russia. While in the initial stages

, the Ukrainian military had a number of setbacks and defeats against the pro-Russian separatist forces, as they were ill-prepared, ill-equipped, lacking in professionalism, morale, fighting spirit and with severe incompetence in the high command. As the Donbas situation deteriorated, many civilians started to form volunteer

militias A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or serve ...

and

paramilitary groups A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

to fight the separatists, known as the " Volunteer Battalions". The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine started to organize and mobilize some of these units under their command as the Territorial Defence Battalions. The Territorial Defense Battalions and other Volunteer Battalions were credited with having held the line against separatist forces and allowing the Ukrainian military to reorganize and mobilize. In late 2014 the system of territorial defense of Ukraine changed. Territorial defense battalions were reorganized and transferred to the mechanized infantry brigade of the Army. To replace them, a new structure of the territorial defense forces of the Armed Forces was gradually introduced. The example of Ukrainian Forces was later used by Poland to build its own armed forces, which from 2015 and on implemented a similar practice. Ukrainian armed civilians

On 25 May 2021, President

Volodymyr Zelensky 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 ...

introduced a law to the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

(Ukraine's national parliament) "on the basis of national resistance" that proposed to increase the number of the territorial forces by 11,000 servicemen.The law on national resistance came into force

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(1 January 2022) The old Territorial Defence units would be now organized under the new Territorial Defense Forces as a standalone branch of the Armed Forces. Veterans of the Donbas war from 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 ...

and other

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

forces involved in the conflict would provide a backbone to train and lead the mobilized volunteers. On 16 July 2021 parliament approved this bill, and on 29 July 2021 Zelensky signed the law. On 1 January 2022, the Territorial Defence Forces were officially activated. The creation of the branch coincided with the Russian military build-up which had been ongoing since 2021. UA TDF in liberated Shevchenkove

On 11 February 2022, the planned number of volunteers was increased from 1.5 to 2 million. As a result of the

, the Territorial Defense Forces reserves were activated and many civilians joined local Territorial Defense Forces groups to fight the Russian invaders. On 25 February, during the rapid Russian offensive into Kyiv, the Ukrainian government distributed 18,000 guns for people wishing to fight 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, ...

. For the next few days, the Territorial Forces were engaged in various combat situations and battles around Ukraine, supporting the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

and

. By 6 March, almost 100,000 people had volunteered for the Territorial Defense Forces. Some units stopped accepting volunteer as they reached their operational limit. There were reports of Ukrainian volunteers paying bribes or using connections to join the Territorial Defense. On 27 February, as a result of many foreigners volunteering to fight for Ukraine, President Zelenskyy created the

International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, is a military unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces composed of foreign volunteers. It was created on 27 February 2022 by the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian ...

, a foreign legion which was placed under the command of the Territorial Defense Forces. A TDF battalion, the Bratstvo battalion, was active in multiple major campaigns during the 2022 invasion, including the defense of Kyiv, the Kharkiv counteroffensive, and the liberation of

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

. It is currently conducting riverine operations through its special forces unit. The Territorial Defense Forces were in charge of engaging in Partisan work and

Guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

on territory occupied by Russian forces. In

, local civilians joined local TDF units and formed

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...

in order to provide Partisan work, such as espionage, sabotage, assassination and reconnaissance. In September 2022, the 113th Territorial Defense Brigade also partook in the Kharkiv counteroffensive namely in the direction of

Vovchansk Vovchansk (, ; ) is a destroyed city in Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, northeastern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of . The Vovcha river, a tributary of the Donets river, runs through the city. Vovchansk had a population of However, th ...

. Ukrainian units liberated most of the

Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the w ...

following the collapse of Russian frontline forces. This has been attributed to the lack of secondary and tertiary defensive lines. Ukraine's TDF had been historically receiving less and worse equipment than regular

ZSU ZSU may refer to: * Armed Forces of Ukraine () * Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon () ** ZSU-37, based on the chassis of the SU-76M and developed by the end of 1943 ** ZSU-57-2, developed by the 1950s, twin 57mm autocannon ** ZSU-23-4, successo ...

and

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

forces while at the same time being frequently operating in hot zones where general armed forces would be more suitable. This tendency to plug gaps in defense with TDF, leading to increased losses and defense failures, had been one of the points of criticism of Ukrainian military command.

Tasks

In accordance with the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

and legislation passed by the Supreme Council, the TDF fulfills the following missions: * Protection of public authorities, local governments, critical facilities, important public enterprises and communications * Deployment at checkpoints * Combating sabotage and intelligence forces of the enemy and any illegal armed formations and looters * Maintaining safety and security in any of the administrative divisions of Ukraine (regions, cities, districts and townships) * Organization of resistance and (or) guerrilla groups – in case of territory being captured by the enemy * Providing search and rescue and disaster response and mitigation during cases of peacetime natural and man-made disasters in support of other uniformed organizations

Structure

Ukraine's territorial lands is divided into defense zones according to upper-level administrative units (regions, cities of special status, and Autonomous Republic of Crimea), which in turn are subordinate to the relevant operational command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in whose area of responsibility these administrative units belong. Each military commissariat forms a security or militia infantry company, and the regional military commissariats, in addition, are responsible for the territorial defense battalions (BtrO, 27 battalions). Each district (city) military commissariat in the area of its responsibility is responsible for the raising of two to five militia detachments of company size 2 depending on the assigned tasks (ZgO, 490 + 111 (districts in cities), 1202 units, at least does not take into account the occupied territories). Approximate staff strength - 423,428 (battalions: 13,284, guard companies: 75,988, defense units: 334,165) service personnel. Territorial defense brigades are recruited on the basis of the military reserve and are reporting to the office of the regional military commissioner (

military commissariat A military commissariat (from , shortened as ), is an institution that is part of military service or law enforcement mechanisms in some European countries. As part of the British Army in the 19th century, military commissariats were used for ...

Territorial Defense Brigade

* Brigade Administration (headquarters) and HQ Company * 5-9 Territorial Infantry Battalions * Counter-Sabotage Company * Field Artillery/Anti-Tank Battery * Fire Support Company * Mortar Battery * Armored Infantry/Tank Company/Battalion * Combat Support Formations (company/battalion) ** Air Defense Artillery Battery ** Combat Engineer Battalion/Company ** Signals Company * Service Support Units * Brigade Depot

Territorial Rifle Battalion

* Battalion Administration (headquarters) Company * 3 Infantry Companies * Fire Support Company * Reconnaissance Platoon * Field Communication Unit * Engineer Platoon * Material Support Platoon * Technical Control Point * Unit size: 492 Servicemen * Weapons:

ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Develo ...

, 82 mm mortar 2B9 «Vasilek»

RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...

, AK, PM * Vehicle: Automotives

Military Commissariat Defense Company

* Headquarters and HQ Platoon * 4 Protection Platoons * Unit size: 121 people * Weapons: RPG-7, AK, PM * Vehicle: Automotive

Defense Detachment

* Detachment HQ platoon * 9 Infantry Platoons * Economic Department * Maintenance Department of Automotive Engineering * Health Center * Unit size: 278 people * Weapons: RPG-7, AK, PM * Vehicle: Automotive

Civil Defense (Teroborona)

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

men of the

Civil Defence Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

of the TDF, while being

, are also affiliated to the

State Emergency Service of Ukraine The State Emergency Service of Ukraine
''Kyiv Post'' (24 De ...

. They are organized similarly to the territorial battalions and/or companies.

International Legion

As a former subdivision of the TDFU, the International Legion of Territorial Defense was organized as an operational division with brigades/regiments or independent battalions, structured in like manner as the territorial battalions mentioned above.

Units

Operational Command West

As of 2024 the structure is as follows: * 101st Transcarpathian Defense Brigade (

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 ...

) * 102nd Ivano-Frankivsk Defense Brigade (

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

) * 103rd Lviv Defense Brigade (

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. The capital city, capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is History Name The region is named ...

) * 104th Rivne Defense Brigade (

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast (), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of the region is . Its population is: Before its annexation by the ...

) * 105th Ternopil Defense Brigade (

Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast (), also referred to as Ternopilshchyna () or Ternopillia (), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its Capital (political), administrative center is Ternopil, through which flows the Seret (river), Seret, a tribu ...

) * 106th Khmelnytskyi Defense Brigade (

Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast (), also known as Khmelnychchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The Capital (political) ...

) * 107th Chernivtsi Defense Brigade (

Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast (), also referred to as Chernivechchyna (), is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia. It has an international border with Romania and Moldo ...

) * 125th Lviv City Defense Brigade (

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) * 2nd Volyn Infantry Battalion (

Volyn Oblast Volyn Oblast () or simply Volyn (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its Capital city ...

) * 5th Zakarpattia Infantry Battalion (

) * 7th Ivano-Frankivsk Battalion (

) * 10th Lviv Infantry Battalion (

) * 14th Rivne Infantry Battalion (

) * 16th Ternopil Infantry Battalion (

) * 19th Khmelnytskyi Battalion (

) * 21st Chernivtsi Infantry Battalion (

)

Operational Command North

1st Territorial Defense Brigade (

) * 112th Kyiv City Defense Brigade (

) * 114th Kyiv Oblast Defense Brigade (

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

) * 115th Zhytomyr Defense Brigade (

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast (), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna (), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately H ...

) * 116th Poltava Defense Brigade (

Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast (), also referred to as Poltavshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was par ...

) *

117th Sumy Defense Brigade (

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presid ...

) * 118th Cherkasy Defense Brigade (

Cherkasy Oblast Cherkasy Oblast (, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna (, ) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central Ukraine located along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The Capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the cit ...

) * 119th Chernihiv Defense Brigade (

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

) * 241st Kyiv City Defense Brigade (

) * 4th Zhytomyr Infantry Battalion (

) * 8th Kyiv Region Infantry Battalion (

Kyiv Region Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special status. However, Kyiv also serves as the ...

) * 13th Poltava Infantry Battalion (

) * 15th Sumy Infantry Battalion (

) * 20th Cherkasy Infantry Battalion (

) * 22nd Chernihiv Infantry Battalion (

) * Kyiv Infantry Battalion (

)

Operational Command South

* 120th Vinnytsia Defense Brigade (

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of History Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...

) * 121st Kirovohrad Defense Brigade (

Kirovohrad Oblast Kirovohrad Oblast (), also known as Kirovohradshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (''province'') in central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kropyvnytskyi. The oblast's population is It is ...

) * 122nd Odesa Defense Brigade (

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

) * 123rd Mykolaiv Defense Brigade (

Mykolaiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolaiv. At the most recent estimate, the population ...

* 1st Vinnytsia Infantry Battalion (

) * 9th Kirovohrad Infantry Battalion (

) * 12th Odesa Infantry Battalion (

) * 11th Mykolaiv Infantry Battalion (

) * 18th Kherson City Infantry Battalion (

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

)

Operational Command East

* 108th Dnipro Defense Brigade (

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in simultaneously southern, eastern and central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. It was created on February 27, 1932. Dnipropetro ...

) * 109th Donetsk Defense Brigade (

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 ...

) * 110th Zaporizhia Defense Brigade (

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

) * 111th Luhansk Defense Brigade (

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

) * 113th Kharkiv Defense Brigade (

) * 127th Kharkiv City Defense Brigade (

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

) * 128th Dnipro City Defense Brigade (

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

) * 129th Kryvyi Rih Defense Brigade (

) * 3rd Dnipro Infantry Battalion ( Dnipro Oblast) * 6th Infantry Battalion (?) * 17th Kharkiv Infantry Battalion (

) * 105th Luhansk Infantry Battalion (

) * Luhansk Infantry Battalion (

)

Formations transferred to the Armed Forces

* 100th Volyn Defense Brigade (

) ** Transferred to

in March 2024 * 124th Kherson Defense Brigade (

) ** Transferred to

Ukrainian Marine Corps The Ukrainian Marine Corps (, ), also known simply as the Ukrainian Marines (), is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2023, responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations. From ...

in June 2024 * 126th Odesa City Defense Brigade (

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

) ** Transferred to Ukrainian Marine Corps in April 2024

Organisation

Territorial defense throughout Ukraine is organized by the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine () is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational management of the armed forces under the Ministry of De ...

, or regional governments in the relevant areas, within their powers. Direct supervision of state territorial defense is done by the head of the General Staff, with the Commander of the Armed Forces assuming overall supervision through the General Staff and the office of the Commander of the TDF. Because of their territorial defense tasks the Territorial Defense Forces are involved in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations formed in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, including law enforcement forces, units of the State Special Transport Service, State Special Communications Service of Ukraine and the relevant bodies and offices of the government of the republic. Regional military commissariats form separate rifle battalions. District (city) military commissariats form defense units in an amount of 2 to 5 units, depending on the assigned tasks. Regional and district military commissariats have a staff defence company, involved in the task of territorial defense (TD). All units are equipped

s and military service obligatories. Preparation of the units of TD held within educational meeting of military service (with practical appeal) and the activities carried out between these. Units of the ILTD were made up of veterans of foreign armed forces and organized in like manner as the rest of the TDF.

Commanders

* Yuriy Halushkin (1 Jan 2022 – 15 May 2022)Zelensky appoints Halushkin Commander of territorial defense forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(1 January 2022) * Ihor Tantsyura (15 May 2022 – 9 October 2023) * Anatoliy Barhylevych (9 October 2023 – 9 February 2024) * Ihor Plakhuta (11 February 2024 – present)

References

{{Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces Military units and formations of Ukraine 2014 establishments in Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2014