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Territorial Defence Forces | |
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Війська територіальної оборони (Ukrainian) | |
Founded | 2014 (unofficially) 2022 (officially) |
Country | Ukraine |
Type | Military reserve force |
Role | Light infantry Home guard |
Size | 37,000 active 130,000 volunteers |
Part of | Armed Forces of Ukraine |
Anniversaries | The first Sunday of October[1] |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Major General Ihor Plakhuta[2] |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol |
The Territorial Defence Forces (Ukrainian: Війська територіальної оборони, romanized: Viiska terytorialnoi oborony) are the military reserve component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Territorial Defence Forces were formed after the reorganization of the Territorial Defence Battalions, volunteer militias created during the war in Donbas under the command of the Ministry of Defence.[3] 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.[4][5]
It is formed by a core of part-time reservists, 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,[6] with the core expected to lead the mobilized volunteers.[5] The TDF was officially activated with the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more than 100,000 civilians had volunteered by March.[7]
The International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine, formed by foreign volunteers, is part of the Territorial Defense Forces.[8]
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