Authors

Alla Kovalova¹;  ¹ Independent Researcher, Ukraine

Discussion

The territorial defense forces have a significant impact on the country's security. They enable to reduce the possibility of hostile aggression in peacetime and to increase the losses of the aggressor's army and its military expenditures in wartime.
Territorial defense forces in a broad sense are characterized by its local, grass-rooted nature, protective, non-aggressive character, and not-regular army status. In a narrow sense it is a state system of military training that functions on a permanent basis of the armed units according to the territorial principle. They do not belong to the regular army, but serve as its reserve in peacetime or wartime. They are somewhat similar to other irregular armed forces, like militia or partisan/guerrilla movements through the availability of weapons and attachment to their locality. Nevertheless, they have some specific features concerning time (war or peace), territory (occupied or unoccupied), and conditions (emergency case, mandatory support of local civilians) etc. Modern models of territorial defense are country-specific and changeable depending on historical background, country's resources, military doctrine, participation in international military unions, and changing current situation. As for Ukraine, several armed formations can be mentioned in its past that can be tentatively attributed to territorial defense, such as the Cossacks, (Zaporozhian Host and Ukrainian Registered Cossacks in the 15th-18th centuries), the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (1942-1954) and Volunteer Battalions (2014-2015). Before the start of full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine, the concept of territorial defense was discussed based on two different approaches. According to them, with the beginning of direct Russian invasion, two variants of para-military formations were shaped to assist the army on the basis of the legislation adopted in 2022, which legitimized the active participation of civilians in the defense of the country and granted them combat immunity. These are territorial defense units (ТРО) subordinated to the Ministry of Defense and Voluntary Formations of Territorial Communities (ДФТГ). Now in this direction, within the framework of the concept of National Resistance, a comprehensive plan for the widest possible involvement of Ukrainian citizens in the defense of the country is being developed and has begun to be implemented.