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Glorious Intelligence Units

The 3rd Separate Special Forces Regiment

The 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade was established in the town of Staryi Krym in October 1962 according to the Directive of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. The Order of Minister of Defence of the USSR designated October 4 as Brigade Day. The Brigade was awarded the Colours in April 1964.

In recognition of their merits in combat training an honorary title “Named after the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution” was bestowed upon the 1st Special Forces Detachment of the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade by Odessa military district commander.

During 1979 – 1987 the Brigade was awarded with the Red Challenge Banner of Military Council of Odessa military district many times, recorded in the Book of Honor of Military Council of Odessa military district and awarded with certificates of merit.

In addition to that in 1987 the reconnaissance group of Special Forces of the Brigade was acknowledged as the best in sniping fire in the Armed Forces of the USSR, and in 1990 the reconnaissance group of Special Forces of the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade won the first place in the competition of special forces groups of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

The Afghan war of 1979-1989 was an ordeal for the personnel of the Brigade. Although the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade was not reformed for the Soviet War in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Special Forces troops of the Brigade were part of separate detachments of Special Forces that were formed on the basis of other military units.

Volodymyr Pavlovych Kovtun

So, in 1985 about 30 servicemen of the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade led by First Lieutenant V. P. Kovtun joined the 186th Separate Special Forces Detachment, which was formed on the basis of the 8th Separate Special Forces Brigade (Iziaslav, Khmelnytskyi region) and was later stationed in the Afghan settlement Shahjoy.

In 1987, the reconnaissance group of Special Forces lead by First Lieutenant V.P. Kovtun was the first to capture a sample of American Stinger MANPADS.

In addition to 186th Separate Special Forces Detachment servicemen of the Brigade demonstrated excellence in practically all Soviet Special Forces detachments deployed in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

The former commander of the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade Colonel Yu. T. Starov who headed the 15th Special Forces Brigade in Afghanistan became a legendary figure of the Afghan war. Under his leadership, Afghanistan Order of the Red Banner of Military Valour and Honorary Red Banner were bestowed upon the 15th Special Forces Brigade.

Yury Timofeyevich Starov

When Ukraine gained independence, the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade became subordinate to the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, and the personnel of the military unit pledged allegiance to Ukrainian people.

In June 1998, the 10th Separate Special Forces Brigade was converted into the 1st Separate Special Forces Regiment.

According to the results of 1999-2000 the 1st Separate Special Forces Regiment was acknowledged as one of the best units of the Operation Command South by the Commander of Operation Command South.

In September 2000 the 1st Separate Special Forces Regiment was renamed as the 3rd Separate Special Forces Regiment and in July 2003 it was relocated from the town of Stary Krym to the city of Kirovohrad.

During the years of independence the service members participated in international exercises and peacekeeping operations. In particular, members of the regiment competed in an international Special Forces Competition held in Slovakia for two consecutive years and returned to Kirovohrad with awards twice, winning prizes among teams from more than ten countries. In May 2015 the 3rd Separate Special Forces Regiment was inspected by the Commission of the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and passed the review successfully.

Faithful to the glorious traditions the service members of the 3rd Separate Special Forces Regiment demonstrate commitment to excellence creating new pages in history of their unit.