Recruitment to Offensive Guard may be extended after 1 April

The recruiting campaign for the formation of the Offensive Guard will officially end on 1 April, but it can be extended because many people are willing to join the assault brigades. In addition, it is planned to create a reserve for Guard units.

Source: Kateryna Pavlichenko, Deputy Head of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and Ruslan Muzychuk, spokesperson for the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU), in an interview with Suspilne [Ukraine’s national broadcaster – ed.]

Quote from Pavlichenko: "In a few days, we still plan to complete the recruiting campaign, which started at the beginning of February.

During these months, all those willing could submit their application to one or another brigade of the Offensive Guard, based on their wishes, and conviction to serve, work either in the police, or in the border service, or the National Guard and decide directly where the recruit wants to join and where to work on…

In March, those who passed the initial selection, which consisted of an interview, psychological testing, and a medical examination, began to be enrolled in the units where they will serve in the future. And now there is already a week left until the end of the deadlines of the campaign that were announced at the beginning."

Details: Pavlichenko noted that the recruiting centres at the Administrative Service Centres will officially work until 1 April.

"After the 1st, we will review this decision, and perhaps we will still allow applications to be submitted through the website because many are willing. And we understand that we will form certain reserves that will review and involve, perhaps, in the formation of other brigades that will be created," the deputy minister said.

Ruslan Muzychuk, Spokesperson for the National Guard of Ukraine, noted that if those willing continue to apply, the recruitment will continue because other units of the National Guard are being formed simultaneously and are also being staffed.

"During martial law, the staff of the military units of our units expanded significantly because the number of defence tasks to be performed by the National Guard also increased," the spokesman of NGU said.

He reminded that the Guardsmen perform both military and law enforcement functions, which include serving at checkpoints, ensuring martial law, and protecting critical infrastructure facilities.

Therefore, recruitment to the ranks of the National Guard will continue even after 1 April.

Quote from Muzychuk: "Reserves will also be formed. As of the end of last week, slightly more than 16,000 questionnaires were submitted to National Guard units.

A different number is sometimes stated in the media. This is because the numbers that are submitted to all eight brigades are announced. Someone announces, for example, the numbers submitted to the police or border guard brigades, but 16,000 is the number that concerns the six brigades of the National Guard."

Background: 

• At the beginning of February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine announced the formation of volunteer battalions of the Offensive Guard. These units are formed, in particular, in order to liberate the territories occupied by Russia.
• Volunteers applying for admission to the Offensive Guard must choose the brigade they want to serve in. There are eight such brigades, and they are created based on units that already have combat experience.

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