The Zhytomyr Border Detachment "
Sich Riflemen
The Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin () was one of the first regular military units of the Ukrainian People's Army. The unit operated from 1917 to 1919 and was formed from Ukrainian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army (Ukrainian Sich Riflem ...
" (1495) is a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
level detachment of the Central Department of the
State Border Service of Ukraine. The detachment guards the
Belarus-Ukraine border in
Korosten Raion
Korosten Raion () is a raion (district) of Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine borde ...
of
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 ...
and
Vyshhorod Raion
Vyshhorod Raion () is a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Vyshhorod. It has a population of
On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Kyiv Oblast w ...
of
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 ...
. The detachment guards a border length of 405 km: 395.5 km on land and 9.5 km on river as well as protected area of the exclusion zone and the zone of mandatory resettlement: 148.5 km along border and 142.7 km along rear.
History
It was officially established on 18 January 2001, with the establishment being entrusted to Lieutenant General Yoltukhovskyi M. M. and was completed in December 2002, under Major General Myshakovskyi V. U. and started operations on 1 January 2003.
The detachment took part in the
War in Donbass
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 began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several towns. Ukraine's military launched an operation ...
with 75% of its personnel being deployed to the
ATO zone
Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone (), or ATO zone (), was a term used by the media, public, the government of Ukraine, and the OSCE and other foreign institutions to identify Ukrainian territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (oblasts) under the c ...
at various times.
[9 border detachment named after the Sichovy Sagittarius — 22 years in the protection of the northern borders]
/ref> In 2020, the detachment neutralized illegal transfer system for smuggling of 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 across the border.
Following the 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 ...
, it was amongst the first to engage Russian troops.[ It took part in the Battle of Avdiivka. On 19 June 2023, the detachment was awarded the honorary award " For Courage and Bravery".]FPV drone
First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot's viewpoint. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircraft or oth ...
s for combat operations. In June 2024, the Belarusian authorities alleged that the Zhytomyr detachment was working alongside the Russian Volunteer Corps
The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC; ) is a far-right paramilitary unit of Russia, Russian citizens, based in Ukraine. It was formed in August 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to fight against the Russia under Vladimir Putin, governm ...
and the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces armed with heavy weapons, multi-purpose tracked vehicles, IFVs, Bradleys, M142 HIMARS
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS ) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) M1140 truck fram ...
s, M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the Wa ...
s and Flakpanzer Gepard
The ''Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard'' ("anti-aircraft-gun tank 'Cheetah, better known as the Flakpanzer Gepard) is an all-weather-capable West German Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) based on the hu ...
s. On 13 June 2024, the detachment recovered the stolen Jan Linsen
Jan Linsen (Hoorn, 1602 or 1603 – Hoorn, May 26, 1635) was a Dutch painter of mythological and historical themes.
Jan Linsen travelled in France and Italy on a Grand Tour, and in Rome he became a member of the painters' circle known as the Ben ...
's painting " Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well" wanted by Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
. In November 2024, the detachment destroyed a Russian Kh-101
The Kh-101 (; NATO reporting name: AS-23 "Kodiak") is a Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile. Designed in the 1990s, it underwent testing in the 2000s and entered service in the 2010s, seeing use in the Syrian Civil War and the Russian ...
missile using MANPAD
Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and also used against low-flying cruise missi ...
s.
Structure
The structure of the detachment is as follows:
* Management and Headquarters
* Border Service Department "Ivankiv"
* Border Service Department "Mlachivka"
* Border Service Department "Ovruch"
* Border Service Department "Luchanki"
* Border Service Department "Kopishche"
* Mobile Border Outpost "Zhytomyr"
* Guardian units
Commanders
* Colonel Romaniuk I. N. (2001–2003)
* Colonel Snisar U. M. (2003–2007)
* Lieutenant Colonel Yehorov V. W. (2007–2008)
* Colonel Colgan K. P. (2007-?)
References
{{Border Guard of Ukraine
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Military units and formations established in 2001
Brigades of Ukraine