More than 20,000 volunteers want to join 'Offensive Guard' assault brigades of Ukrainian National Guard - Colonel Urshalovych

This was stated at the Media Center by Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, the Ukrainian National Guard’s Deputy Director of the Deployment Planning Department of the Main Directorate.

"As of today, 20,204 applications have been received from volunteers who want to take part in the liberation of Ukraine from the "Russian world" as part of the National Guard brigades, including more than 16,500 through the “Offensive Guard” website," said Urshalovych.

Soldiers from other military units of the National Guard want to join the brigade. 

The colonel says that there is a certain percentage of candidates who are not selected for assault brigades for health reasons, due to insufficient physical fitness or based on the results of the interview. 

"Whenever possible, we offer such candidates to serve in other units and positions where the requirements are not as high. In general, we note a high level of motivation among those wishing to join the ranks of the “Offensive Guard” assault brigades," added Urshalovych.

Volunteers of the assault brigades who have already passed all stages of selection and have been enrolled are preparing for a counteroffensive at training grounds.

Urshalovych emphasized that the soldiers undergo individual training, which lasts up to 3 weeks, and collective training, which lasts up to 5 weeks. These trainings are completed with tactical exercises as part of units. Certain specialists, such as artillerymen and anti-aircraft gunners, are trained at separate, specialized training grounds.

During individual training sessions, the soldiers learn the tactics of soldier and unit actions in different conditions and types of combat. 

"These and other exercises will allow us to form a soldier who will be able to perform the assigned tasks by his moral and combat qualities," said the NGU representative.

For reference. Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs is starting to form assault brigades of the National Guard, National Police and State Border Guard Service.

The project is called "Offensive Guard," These are brigades of volunteers who will participate in the liberation of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea.

Brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine: "Bureviy, Chervona Kalyna, Kara-Dah, Rubizh, Spartan, Azov.

Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine "Liut.”

Brigade of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine “Stalevyi kordon.”

• Since February 4, administrative service centers have been accepting applications for the "Offensive Guard.” 

• As of February 6, there were 7,188 volunteers who had applied to join the ranks of the "Offensive Guard" units, of which 2,055 applications were received over a day.

• On February 12, it became known that on February 4, the Centers for Administrative Services began accepting applications for the formation of assault brigades of the National Guard, National Police and State Border Guard Service. As of today, Ukrainians have submitted more than 20,000 applications to the “Offensive Guard.”

• As of March 11, 28,000 volunteers had applied to join the “Offensive Guard.”