The Kherson Border Detachment (2161) is a brigade level detachment of the Eastern Department of the State Border Service of Ukraine. The detachment guards the Black Sea and the de facto "Russia-Ukraine border" in four Raions (Skadovsk Raion,Henichesk Raion, Kherson Raion and Kakhovka Raion) of Kherson Oblast and one Raion (Mykolaiv Raion) of Mykolaiv Oblast. The detachment guards border length of 506.8 km, 306.8 km on land, 180 km on river and 20 km on lake.
History Service in the Soviet Union The detachment was established on 30 June 1938, on the basis of two command posts of the Odesa Maritime Border Detachment as the 79th Border Detachment of NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR was created to protect the western border along the Dniester River, with the headquarter being Mayaki. In 1940, following the Annexation of Bessarabia it was deployed for the protection of border from Dzurashulesti to the Black Sea. In the summer of 1941, it became the 79th separate border rifle regiment and saw combat during WW2 during the battles or Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Pyatikhatky, Kharkiv, Pavlograd and the infamous Battle of Stalingrad. The regiment received its battle flag following the battle of Izium where the regiment's fighters broke through the German encirclement. In 1944, following the Crimean offensive, the 79th border detachment was transferred there becoming the 79th Simferopol Detachment. It became a member of the South-Western District KGB, then the KGB Operational Group under the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR from 1960 and Western Border District of the KGB from 1963. In 1968, the Simferopol border detachment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.Симферопольский пограничный отряд отметил 74-ю годовщину
Service in Ukraine In 1992, following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, it came under the jurisdiction of Ukraine.
On 29 September 2003, Russia began construction of a dam in the Kerch Strait from the Taman Peninsula to Tuzla Island. In the following, 2003 Tuzla Island conflict the 25th Outpost of the Simferopol Border Detachment was deployed to the island. Ultimately, construction of the dam was stopped on 23 October 2003.
On 2 March 2014, during the Russian invasion of Crimea, Spetsnaz and the Federal Security Service of Russia attempted to storm the headquarters of the Simferopol detachment but failed to capture the building. On 7 March 2014, the Russian military almost completely besieged the detachment completely and the detachment was forced to evacuate its personnel along with weapons and military equipment and was relocated to Kherson.Щодо ситуації на кордоні з Росією та в АР Крим
The detachment detained two Russian FSB who illegally crossed the border in Kherson Oblast on 30 June 2017.Ukrainian border guards detain two Russian FSB officers in Kherson Oblast The detachment detained a person trying to cross into Crimea in August 2020.Ukrainian tried to cross the administrative border with the occupied Crimea for $ 100 On 14 July 2017, the detachment barred 4 Russian citizens from entering Ukraine.Ukrainian border guards banned 4 Russian citizens from entering Ukraine In 2018, following acid leaks in Crimea, 59 people from Crimea fled to Ukraine via the posts of the Detachment.Almost 60 people flee to Ukraine after acid leaks in Crimea
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the detachment saw combat against Russian forces. On 24 February 2022, on the day of the start of invasion, a guardsman of the Detachment (Iozhytsia Anatoly Ivanovich) was killed in action in Antonivka during the Battle of Kherson. On the same day, three guardsmen of the detachment were taken captive during a Russian assault on Chonhar and were later returned on 25 August 2024.Three border guards of Kherson detachment returned from Russian captivity To preserve manpower, the detachment along with the other units temporarily retreated from Kherson Oblast.'We Realized That We Still Had To Fight': Life In Kherson One Year After The End Of Russia's Occupation It then took part in the 2022 Kherson counteroffensive.Digest of the Ministry of Affairs of Ukraine from 19.11.2022 The detachment returned to Kherson in November 2022.(ВІДЕО) Херсонський прикордонний загін повернувся в Херсон On 30 April 2023, the Detachment was awarded the honorary award "For Courage and Bravery". On 22 June 2023, a guardsman of the detachment (Danylo Andriyovych Nechvolod) was killed during a combat mission in the Kherson Oblast during the Dnieper campaign. In February 2024, the detachment's FPV units began operations across the Dnieper.Border guards with the Kherson Detachment published raw footage of FPV drones attacking Russian forces on the Ukrainian battlefield. On 24 February 2024, the detachment's UAVs and artillery destroyed Russian troops and equipment across the Dnieper killing two Russians and wounding one.(VIDEO) Border guards’ aerial reconnaissance destroyed occupants in Kherson region
Structure The detachment includes: Management and Headquarters Border Service Department "Ochakiv" Border Service Department "Mykolaiv" Border Service Department "Kherson" Border Service Department "Zalizniy Port" Border Service Department "Skadovsk" Border Service Department "Preobrazhenka" Border Service Department "Blagovishchenka" Border Service Department "Chonhar" Type C Department Operational-combat Command Post "Sivash" Guardian Units It operates 21 checkpoints, 16 by sea, 2 by air and 3 by road.
Commanders Major General Kharlanov P. P. (1992–1995) Colonel Rumyantsev V. IN. (1995–1997) Colonel Gurskyi M. M. (1997–1998) Colonel Mushimanskyi V. D. (1998–2003) Colonel Alekseenko P. D. (2003–2004) Colonel A. V. Posmetyuk (2004–2006)Командиры пограничных отрядов Украины с 1992 г. Colonel Zamelyuk M. P. (2006–2012) Colonel Sadovchuk A. AT (2013–2014) Colonel Fedorchuk Anatoly Viktorovych (2015) Colonel Oleg Shevchenko (2016) Colonel Pavlo Petrovych Lysak (2017) Colonel Yuriy Mykhailovych Chernov (2017–2021) Colonel Konstantin Barbashov (2021–2022) Colonel Vladyslav Kobylyakov (2022-)
Sources Херсонський прикордонний загін на сайті Державної прикордонної служби України
References