Alpha Group (Ukraine)

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Special Group "Alpha"
Spetsgruppa "A"
Alpha SBU emblem.png
The badge of SBU Alfa Group
Active3 March 1990–present
Country Soviet Union (1990–1991)
 Ukraine (1991–present)
BranchSpetsnaz of the KGB
(1990–1991)
Spetsnaz of the SBU
(1991–present)
TypeSpecial forces
RoleSpecial operations
SizeClassified
Garrison/HQKyiv
Nickname(s)Alpha Group, Alpha (Alfa)
EngagementsRevolution of Dignity
War in Donbas
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Gen. Viktor Karpukhin
Gen. Gennady Zaitsev

Special Group "Alpha" is a Ukrainian Spetsnaz group, branch of the Security Service of Ukraine; and a successor of the Soviet Union's Alpha Group.[1] Group Alpha is one of the top divisions of the special forces of Ukraine.

History[edit]

On 28 July 1974, Alpha Group was created on the orders of the KGB Chairman, Yuri Andropov, in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich massacre. It might have been established as a response to West Germany's creation of the Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (or the GSG 9).[1] By attaching a special-purpose unit to the office of the First Chief Directorate in Moscow (later the Seventh Directorate[2]), it was hoped that the Soviet Union's defensive capacity against terrorist attacks would increase significantly. At the time, other, more offensive special forces of the KGB included the groups Zenit and Kaskad/Omega. Another important mission for Alpha was to provide security for the Soviet leadership against enemy special forces in times of crisis or war.[3]

Later, territorial Alpha units were established across the Soviet Union. An Alpha detachment in Ukraine was created on March 3, 1990 when the order was given to the Chief of the 7th Directorate of the KGB to establish 10th group (Kiev) Group 'A' Services EIR 7th Directorate of the KGB. The selection process was rigorous. Of the initial 120 KGB candidates, only 15 passed the rigorous selection course to establish the first detachment under the leadership of commander Peter Feliksovich Zakrevskii.[4]

Post breakup of the USSR[edit]

The Kiev territorial unit of Group "A" was converted into Service "C" of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in 1992.[4] Nevertheless, it has continued to be informally called "Alpha", until June 23, 1994, when by the decree of the President of Ukraine on the basis of service "C" of the SBU was created Directorate "A" (Alpha). At this point in the SBU's groups "A" consists of 5 offices and regional offices based in each regional center of Ukraine.

2014 Ukrainian Crisis[edit]

In April 2014, in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, when Ukraine's Alpha snipers were alleged to shoot at the protesters,[5][6] it was purged and reorganised,[7] and soon used by the new government against the pro-Russian separatist forces in the war in Donbas. Late April 2014 three officers were captured by members of the Donbas People's Militia armed group led by Igor Strelkov in the town of Horlivka, after which they were beaten up and shown on Russian television;[8] the SBU spokeswoman said the separatists acted on a tip from infiltrators inside the agency.[9]

The SBU Alfa defector Alexander Khodakovsky, a former Alfa commander for Donetsk Oblast who has deserted from Ukrainian service along with several of his men following the revolution, became the commander of the rebel Vostok Battalion and later was given the post of security minister of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic.[10]

Operational record[edit]

AG operators in 2017 in Multicam camo.

From its inception in 1994 to 2010, members of the special unit carried out more than 7,000 operations, from weapons seizure to anti narcotics operations, to apprehension of organized gang members, with no casualties sustained.[11]

The unit suffered its first casualty in June 2014, fighting against Russian separatists and possibly, Russian special forces, in the Donbas Conflict. As of 2018, ten SBU Alpha operators lost their lives in the conflict.[12]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Alpha group (according to Ukrainian sources) ambushed and wiped out a convoy in northern Kiev, around Gostomel, composed of Chechen paramilitary (the "Kadyrovtsy") heading to the city.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b David Cox (2001). Close Protection: The Politics of Guarding Russia's Rulers. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-275-96688-1. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  2. ^ "The Early Yeltsin Years". Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) by Jonathan Littell.
  3. ^ Hackard, Mark (17 April 2015). "KGB Spetsnaz & World War III". Espionage History Archive. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  4. ^ a b "Международная Ассоциация Ветеранов Подразделений Антитеррора "Альфа"". Alfa.org.ua. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. ^ Jamie Dettmer (30 March 2014). "Exclusive: Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  6. ^ Golitsina, Natalya. "Photos Link Yanukovych's Troops To Maidan Massacre". Rferl.org. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  7. ^ "Separatystycznym batalionem Wostok dowodził były dowódca ukraińskiego specnazu" (in Polish). Wiadomosci.gazeta.pl. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  8. ^ "Video: Ukrainian intelligence officers detained by pro-Russian separatists". Telegraph. 2014-04-27. Archived from the original on 2014-04-27. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  9. ^ Oksana Grytsenko (2014-04-28). "Separatists acted on a tip to capture SBU officers, Ukraine's security service says (VIDEO)". Kyivpost.com. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  10. ^ Rothkopf, David. "All Is Not Well in Novorossiya". Foreignpolicy.com. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  11. ^ ""В Ираке бойцы «Альфы» получают меньше других, а служат дольше"".
  12. ^ "Пам'ятаємо | Альфа".
  13. ^ "The subdivision of the National Guard Forces Command of the Chechen Republic is destroyed near Kiev, commander of the regiment Tushaev is killed - Ministry of Defense of Ukraine". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 2022-02-28.

External links[edit]

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