Separate Special Operations Center "East" "Prince Svyatoslav Khorobroy" (OC SpO) (Ukrainian: Окремий центр спеціальних операцій «Схід» імені князя Святослава Хороброго) is a formation of special forces as part of the

Special Operations Forces Special forces and 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 ...

of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was subordinate to the 4th Special Intelligence Service of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The unit is in

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its na ...

. It is part of the United Rapid Response Forces. The regiment was formed on the basis of the 10th Separate Brigade of Special Purpose of the Main Reconnaissance Directorate (GRU) of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

. The regiment participated in the

war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regula ...

. Since 2018, the regiment has been named after Prince Svyatoslav the Brave, the ruler of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

of the 10th century.

History

With the

Independence of Ukraine , image = Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, 1991.jpg , image_size = 280px , image_caption = Typewritten version of the act , date_created = 24 August 1991 , date_ratified = 24 August 1991 , location_of_document = Central State A ...

, on 11 October 1991, the 10th Special Brigade of the USSR was resubordinated to the

Minister of Defense of Ukraine The Minister of Defence ( uk, Міністр оборони, translit=Ministr oborony) is the defence minister of Ukraine and head of the Ministry of Defence, which is in charge of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the second-largest military power in ...

, and the personnel of the military unit took an oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people. Until the fall of 1997, the brigade was under the operational command of the 32nd Army Corps. By the directive of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine dated 3 June 1998, the 10th OBr SpP was reformed into the 1st Separate Special Purpose Regiment (1 OP SpP 32 AK). According to the results of 1999-2000, the 1st OP SpP was recognized by the commander of the forces of the Southern OK of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as one of the best parts of the Southern Operational Command. On September 7, 2000, the 1st Separate Special Purpose Regiment was renamed the 3rd Separate Special Purpose Regiment and in July 2003 was relocated from the city of

Staryi Krym Staryi Krym (russian: Старый Крым; uk, Старий Крим; crh, Eski Qırım, italic=yes; in all three languages) is a small historical town and former bishopric in Kirovske Raion of Crimea, Ukraine. It has been illegally occupie ...

to the city of

(then Kirovohrad). Representatives of the regiment represented the Armed Forces of Ukraine for two years in a row at international competitions of intelligence groups held in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

, where they won prizes among teams from more than ten participating countries.

War in Donbas

In June 2014, the soldiers of the regiment defended the storage bases of armored weapons in Artemivsk. In July 2014, a detachment of the regiment carried out a pilot evacuation operation near Snizhny. The group was surrounded, 10 people died together with the group commander, Lt. Col. Serhii Lysenko. Special forces of the regiment participated in the Fights on the Ukrainian–Russian border. A group under the command of

Yuriy Kovalenko Yuriy Viktorovych Kovalenko ( uk, Юрій Вікторович Коваленко; 16 July 1977 – 15 July 2014) was a Ukrainian military leader, Lieutenant colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the deputy commander of the 3rd spetsnaz regim ...

on two APCs provided intelligence to the Ukrainian military after commanding a crossing of the

Mius River The Mius (, ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус

near Kozhevna. Near Dibrovka, the group discovered an enemy ambush, and a battle ensued. One special forces officer was killed, eight were wounded, two

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...

s had to be called to help, which dealt a devastating blow to the militants. In 2018, the regiment was awarded the honorary title "in the name of Prince Svyatoslav the Brave". On 6 December 2021, to the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 13 light armored

HMMWV The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the o ...

vehicles provided by the United States as part of logistical assistance were transferred to the 3rd Separate Special Purpose Regiment.

Rename as Special Operations Center

The 3rd separate special purpose regiment named after Prince Sviatoslav the Brave was by 2022 reflagged as the Eastern Special Operations Centre "Prince Sviatoslav the Brave"." By decree of the President of Ukraine dated 29 July 2022, the center was awarded the honorary award "For Courage and Bravery."

Structure

1997

* 2 Reconnaissance battalions * 2 Training companies (reconnaissance and communication) * Company of material support * Special weapons company * Automobile company * Special radio communication unit * Cynological department

2017

* Management, Headquarters * 1st Special purpose squad * 2nd Special purpose squad * 3rd Special purpose squad * Security squad * Communications unit

Commanders

* (1992–1996) Colonel Ivan Yakubets * (1996–1997) Colonel Serhiy Dokuchaev * (2015) Colonel Vitaliy Pikulin * (23.03.2016–03.11.2020) Colonel Oleksandr Trepak * (from 03.11.2020) Colonel Mykhailo Krasotin

Losses

As of summer of 2018, the regiment lost 44 servicemen.

Traditions

By Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 22 August 2018 No. 232/2018, the regiment was given the honorary name "in the name of Prince Svyatoslav the Brave." On 6 December 2019, during the celebrations on the occasion of the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the regimental battle song: "Song of the Brave" was presented to soldiers and guests at the regimental square. Its author is Svyatoslav Boyko, the leader of the band "Shirokyi Lan." He created the text of the work together with the servicemen of the regiment. "Song of the Brave" was played to the accompaniment of the regimental orchestra.

Ceremonies

In August 2020, a symbolic harvest took place on the territory of the regiment. The wheat planted in the spring on the symbolic field of memory was collected with the help of sickles, part of it was threshed, and part of it was tied into bundles. Participants of the event were volunteers, military personnel and relatives of the victims. The same action took place in 2021.

Tribute

Awarded

The highest state awards were awarded to: *

Yury Kovalenko Yuriy Viktorovych Kovalenko (; 16 July 1977 – 15 July 2014) was a Ukrainian military leader, Lieutenant colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the deputy commander of the 3rd spetsnaz regiment (Kirovohrad) South operational command of the Lan ...

– Lieutenant Colonel, Hero of Ukraine (posthumously). * Oleksandr Trepak "Redoubt" – Colonel, Hero of Ukraine.

Notes

External links

3-й окремий полк спеціального призначення
на сайті ГУР МО України
До 2000 года в селе Первомайское располагась бригада спецназа (10 обрСпН)
(рос.)
тренування 3-го оп СпП

М.Жирохов Легендарні частини української армії: 3-й окремий полк спецпризначення в боях на Донбасі

СПЕЦНАЗ УКРАЇНИ
* https://censor.net.ua/resonance/393310/12_iyunya_2014_goda_pervyyi_boyi_za_saurmogilu_ogon_protivnika_na_saurmogile_byl_podavlen_ne_ponimayu // «Цензор.нет», 15 June 2016. * {{Cite web , last= , date=2018-03-22 , title=У 3-му полку спецпризначення розробили проект модульних ставниць для зброї (відео) , url=http://www.ukrmilitary.com/2018/03/warehouse.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323030549/http://www.ukrmilitary.com/2018/03/warehouse.html , archive-date=23 March 2018 , access-date=22 March 2018 , website=ukrmilitary.com/ , publisher=

Ukrainian Military Pages Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

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