Over 150 territorial defense battalions to be formed in Ukraine, each soldier to be assigned weapon - Defense Ministry
As part of the deployment of the Territorial Defense System in Ukraine, more than 150 battalions will be created, each soldier of which will be assigned a weapon, the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
"As part of the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the formation of 25 brigades (one region - one brigade) continues, which will unite more than 150 battalions (one battalion per district). The permanent strength of the Territorial Defense in peacetime will be 10,000 military personnel. According to the state of the special period, the units of the Territorial Defense will number more than 130,000 people, for which an appropriate reserve will be formed," the message, released following the meeting on the deployment of a territorial defense system, says.
According to Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, the deployment of the Territorial Defense system will take place in three stages.
"The Territorial Defense is a separate branch of forces within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At first stage, the brigades and battalions of the Territorial Defense will be deployed in peacetime. This is happening right now. Each battalion forms a skeleton of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their task is to command, train and coordinate civilian persons who will sign a contract to serve in the Territorial Defense reserve and will defend the territory where they live," Reznikov said.
He noted that due to these reservists of the Territorial Defense, each battalion will have up to 600 people.
"Formation of the Territorial Defense reserve for the states of the special period is the second stage after the organizational and administrative core of the military personnel is created in the battalions and brigades and the appropriate conditions are provided. Weapons will be assigned to those who conclude a contract and serve in the Territorial Defense reserve. It will be given out for the duration of the exercises or in the event of certain situations," Reznikov said.
It is reported that as of January 17, some 86% of the places of deployment of Territorial Defense units throughout Ukraine have already been determined.
"The pace of deployment of the military component of the Territorial Defense is accelerating," the Defense Ministry said.
