Security Service of Ukraine
Security agency in Ukraine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Security Service of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Служба безпеки України, romanized: Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy; abbreviated as SBU[lower-alpha 1] or SSU) is the main internal security agency of the Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combating organized crime and terrorism. The Constitution of Ukraine defines the SBU as a military formation, and its staff are considered military personnel with ranks. It is subordinated directly under the authority of the president of Ukraine.[5] The SBU also operates its own special forces unit, the Alpha Group.
Служба безпеки України | |
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 20 September 1991; 32 years ago (1991-09-20) |
Jurisdiction | Government of Ukraine |
Headquarters | 32–35, Volodymyrska Street, Kyiv, 01034[1] |
Employees | 29,000 (November 2017)[2] 30,000 (February 2014)[3] |
Agency executive | |
Parent agency | President of Ukraine |
Website | Official website |
The SBU was created after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 1991. The agency was viewed negatively by the Ukrainian public for much of its history, as it was widely regarded as corrupt and was best known for arresting and intimidating political dissidents. After the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, the SBU went through a restructuring with the transition to the new government, because of its corruption and possible infiltration by intelligence agencies of Russia.[6]
The SBU has since been involved in operations against Russia, pro-Russian separatists in Donbas and other Russian sympathizers after the start of the war in Donbas and the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.[7]