Kyiv Presidential Honor Guard Battalion

The Kyiv Presidential Honor Guard Battalion (Ukrainian: Почесна варта Окремого Київського полку Президента України) is a guard of honour unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is a part of the Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Guard Regiment.[4]

Honor Guard Battalion
Батальйон почесної варти
A soldier of the battalion at Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv
Active10 November 1962–present
Country Soviet Union (1962–1991)
 Ukraine (1991–Present)
Branch Soviet Army (1962–1991)
Armed Forces of Ukraine (1991–Present)
TypeHonor Guard
Role
  • Memorial Affairs
  • Ceremonies and Special Events (one battalion)
Part of Independent Presidential Regiment
Garrison/HQKyiv (1962–1974, 1975–Present)
Bila Tserkva (1974–1975)
Motto(s)Де згода, там перемога
Latin: Ubi concordia ibi victoria
Colors  Crimson
MarchQuick: March of the Presidential Regiment of Ukraine
Slow: Military March
AnniversariesNovember 10 (Day of the Honor Guard Company[1])
Commanders
Current
commander		Lieutenant Colonel Yevhen Solodayev[2][3]
Insignia
Official Badge

History

On November 10, 1962, the Honor Guard Company of the Kyiv Military District was formed. In 1975, the company was moved to Kyiv after being stationed in Bila Tserkva for one year. It formed the 427th Regiment of the Civil Defense of the USSR. For 16 years it was the official honor guard of the Ukrainian SSR. On March 10, 1992, an honor guard company was introduced into the brigades of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A year later in 1993, the Guard of Honor of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was formed, and 3 years later an additional training company was created. On February 15, 2001, it was integrated into the ranks of the Independent Presidential Regiment and was renamed as the Kyiv Presidential Honor Guard Battalion.[5]

Structure
Armed honour guards from the battalion presenting arms upon Vice President Dick Cheney's departure from Kyiv in September 2008.
  • Battalion HQ
  • 1st Company
  • 2nd Company
  • 3rd Company (subordinated to the Ministry of Defense)
  • Military Band
  • Symbols Protection Company
  • Training Company

All eligible candidates to join the battalion have to meet certain requirements such as fluency in the Ukrainian language, having a height of at least 180 cm, full secondary education and no physical and/or mental problems.

Traditions

Activities

The battalion takes part in events coinciding with the following Public holidays in Ukraine:

Generally, the battalion also takes part in the following different events, whether it be annual or semi-annual:[6]

Marching style

The battalion utilizes the native German goosestep (first introduced by King Frederick the Great) with the speed of the step being 75 steps per minute and elements of the marching pace of the Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin.[9][10]

Heraldry

There are many commemorative and high-ranking badges specific to the honour guard that soldiers of the battalion earn throughout their careers. One of them, called "Concordia" was developed in 2007 in honor of the 45th anniversary of the creation of the honor guard in 1962. Another badge features Michael, a figure of the coat of arms of the city of Kyiv, indicates the place of deployment of the battalion into the city, and represents the unit's status as a representative unit. The Latin language inscription on the badge: "Ubi concordia ibi victoria" (meaning "Where there is unity, there is victory" when translated) is the heraldic motto of this battalion.

Uniform

The general uniform of the battalion was unveiled on 24 August 2016 based on British and Polish military styles such as a variant of the Polish Rogatywka (the previous one was a peaked cap). The actual uniform jacket was changed from black to brown.[11] It also incorporates details from the uniforms worn by the Ukrainian People's Army, including a cap which features an insignia of a Ukrainian Cossack grasping a cross.[12] Although mainly designed for the Ukrainian Army, the other services represented in the based their new uniforms off of the army's update. All of this was partly done in response to the ongoing Russian military intervention in Ukraine and decommunization in Ukraine to distance the battalion from its ceremonial counterparts in the Soviet Army/Russian Army.[13][14]

Members of the battalion are equipped with a standard SKS rifle, which is used commonly by post-Soviet honour guards.

Sabre

In 2018, the battalion replaced the standard Soviet officer cavalry sabre (Шабля) from the 1940s with a newer model based on the "Cossack Sword" and designed by the Main Directorate of Development and Material Support. It was first unveiled at the Kyiv Independence Day Parade celebrating Independence Day and the 100th anniversary of the revival of Ukrainian statehood in August of that year. It combines historically Ukrainian designs from swords of the Cossack times with the modern military elements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is in fact based on 16th century weapons used by the Ukrainian Cossacks of Zaporizhia in Eastern Europe.[15][16]

Shoulder patches and rank insignia

The battalion uses the following three different patches for the three different platoons in each company who are from all three service branches. Every patch has the Ukrainian language term for guard of honour at the top and the Ministry of Defence's name at the bottom. They are identified by the following colors:

Since 1993, the same design has been used on the battalion shoulder board:

List of Commanders
  • Captain I. Bondarenko (March 1993 – September 1996)
  • Major I. Kozyrkov (September 1996 – July 2001)
  • Major V. Plakhtiy (July 2001 – October 2004)
  • Major V. Skoryk (October 2004 – November 2005)
  • Major S. Klyavlin (November 2005 – June 2011)
  • Lieutenant Colonel E. Golovanchuk (June 2011 – 2013)
  • Major Oleksiy Pochtar (2013–2018)[17]
  • Major Yevhen Solodayev (2018–Present)

See also

References
  1. http://fakty.ua/76103-v-rotu-pochetnogo-karaula-podbirayutsya-rebyata-ne-nizhe-183-i-ne-vyshe-190-sm
  2. https://declarations.com.ua/declaration/nacp_54496215-8019-4390-973d-986839579eab
  3. https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/5372020-35849
  4. https://novynarnia.com/2017/11/10/u-viyskah-vidznachili-yuviley-pochesnoyi-varti-minoboroni-ukrayini-stvorenoyi-1962-roku-v-srsr/
  5. http://koda.gov.ua/normdoc/pro-vidznachennya-pochesnoyu-gramotoyu-k-217/
  6. "Archived copy" Тяготы службы солдат почетного караула. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "ПРОТОКОЛЬНЕ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ВІЗИТІВ НА ВИЩОМУ РІВНІ". Pidruchniki. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. zakon.rada.gov.ua https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/746/2002. Retrieved 2020-04-20. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. Бережной Влад (15 December 2009). Украинские солдаты будут задирать ноги на 5 см ниже. ЧАО "Сегодня Мультимедиа".
  10. "Национальный" строевой шаг сделает украинскую армию элитарной. MIGnews. 25 February 2010.
  11. Григорьев Борис (12 October 2011). Один день в полку Януковича. Analitica.kiev.ua. Archived from the original on 2018-01-08.
  12. Fashion statement: Ukrainian troops debut post-Soviet uniforms Archived 2016-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Times (25 August 2016)
  13. http://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/25/fashion-statement-ukrainian-troops-debut-post-sovi/
  14. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2016/08/24/ukrainian-army-pushes-further-westernization-with-new-uniforms-a55091
  15. Олексій Руденко (2018-08-22). "Нова парадна січна зброя Почесної варти ЗС України". Ukrainian Military Pages. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. "Шабля Почесної варти Збройних Сил України". Ukrainian Military Pages. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  17. https://declarations.com.ua/declaration/nacp_c9d5db22-9a3e-44bb-9462-8c6cc87d7d98
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