Galagan: Special Operations Forces Are the Key Branch Responsible for Training and Organizing the Resistance Movement

The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the key branch responsible for the training and organization of the resistance movement. This was stated in an interview with Tyzhden by the Commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Hryhorii Galagan.

“We worked on Draft Law No. 5557 for quite a long time. What is important is that this law is comprehensive and includes three components: territorial defense, the resistance movement, and the preparation of Ukraine’s population for resistance. All these components are interconnected and cannot exist independently of one another. This comprehensive approach was initiated by the Office of the President, and it worked in our favor, as we ourselves had been thinking along these lines for quite some time,” Galagan explained.

The SOF Commander also noted that Ukrainian special operations forces closely cooperate with foreign partners, in particular by participating in multinational exercises such as Sea Breeze, where they practice interoperability with NATO forces. He recalled that one SOF unit has already been certified and granted the right to be deployed as part of the NATO Response Force, and another unit may complete certification by the end of the year.

“Over the past year, we have optimized the headquarters of military structures—from unit detachments to the command level—according to NATO standards, and they now operate in line with the relevant procedures. A list of regulatory and legal documents necessary for the functioning and development of the SOF has also been approved. In addition, the SOF are equipped with material and technical resources in accordance with Alliance standards—albeit not in full, but sufficient to carry out assigned tasks,” Galagan noted.

According to the SOF Commander, Russia seeks to keep Ukraine within its sphere of influence; therefore, Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO member states and its movement toward Alliance membership deeply concern Moscow. As a result, Russia continues efforts to restore the offensive potential of its armed forces by employing hybrid warfare methods, particularly through the information domain, as well as economic and environmental pressure, asymmetric actions, and provocations—including troop buildups near Ukraine’s borders and the deliberate escalation of panic worldwide.

“Our adversary’s course is aimed at restoring an offensive doctrine, developing the nuclear triad, reaction and early-warning systems, reinstating the nuclear component in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, and, of course, ensuring personnel capacity for its armed forces,” the SOF Commander emphasized.

At the same time, Galagan is convinced that in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2014, servicemen must be educated not only as professionals but also as patriots. For this purpose, military-patriotic education of youth is essential, and the experience of the UPA, the Ukrainian People’s Republic, and the Cold Yar insurgents should be “an integral part of educating a modern soldier.”

“In my view, it was precisely due to insufficient attention to the historical foundations of our army in the period before 2014 that the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea occurred. Under conditions of uncertainty, there was also a defection of servicemen to the enemy’s side. This happened because they were trained as professionals but not raised as patriots. Such work should have been done from childhood, and now we have the opportunity to change that. The Special Operations Forces take these aspects into account and are strengthening their involvement in military-patriotic education of the youth,” Galagan believes.

As a reminder, on June 29 the Verkhovna Rada supported, in the first reading, the draft law on the foundations of national resistance, which provides for the development of territorial defense, the organization of the Resistance Movement, and appropriate preparation of Ukrainian citizens for national resistance. According to Draft Law No. 5557, the organization of the Resistance Movement will be entrusted to the Special Operations Forces.

In 2018, the team of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation (UCSC) accompanied a delegation from the American Foreign Policy Council during its visit to Ukraine. In addition to official meetings in Kyiv, the delegation also visited the front line near Avdiivka, including the well-known industrial zone. At the time, the trip was organized by Hryhorii Galagan, then commander of the SBU’s Alpha special unit.

We welcome the fact that such professionals and patriots as General Galagan are implementing the concept of comprehensive defense in our country. This will be the foundation of a strong Ukraine in the future—a country whose land no aggressor would dare to encroach upon.