The first volunteer battalions, which were formed in the spring of 2014, formed the basis for further construction of the Ukrainian army. This was during a presentation in Kiev of the book “Dobrobiti. The story of the heroism of the battalion, which saved the country,” said Secretary of national security Council and defense of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov.
“Today the model of volunteer battalions built the army, on the model of the volunteer battalions of the national guard, and for that models we are building our power, on this model we build our victory,” he said.
Turchynov said that Russian aggression against Ukraine began on 20 February 2014, when the Maidan in Kiev shot the heroes of the Heavenly hundred.
“The Russians – they are all well calculated: the regime of Yanukovych is doomed, and the new government yet, they started when the Ukrainian army did not actually have – years systematically destroyed the defense potential of Ukraine, and so did not rise to the resistance was not” – said Turchinov.
He noted that at that time along the border of Ukraine was concentrated approximately 80 thousand well-armed and trained Russian troops.
According to Turchynov, in the absence of resources needed in the shortest possible time to transfer to the East, the forces that were available to at least meet the enemy on the most dangerous directions – Kiev, Sumy, Kharkov, and the like.
“They wanted to pass from East to West, and with a military convoy to bring, they said, “the legitimate President”. But stopped them volunteers-the heroes – the ones who were dressed who in what, and usually only with small arms in the hands”, – said Turchinov.
He stressed that the volunteer battalions were given the opportunity to gain time and to create an army to restore the military-industrial complex, to develop and begin to produce new models of weapons.
In turn, present at the event, the Minister of internal Affairs Arsen Avakov said: “this is an example of history for all Ukrainians, including those who then will read about these events, to remember how he formed dobrobiti”.
