Security Service of Ukraine

Security Service of Ukraine
Служба безпеки України
Emblem of the Security Service
Flag of the Security Service
Agency overview
Formed20 September 1991 (1991-09-20)
JurisdictionGovernment of Ukraine
Headquarters32–35, Volodymyrska Street, Kyiv, 01034[1]
Employees29,000 (November 2017)[2]
30,000 (February 2014)[3]
Agency executive
Parent agencyPresident of Ukraine
WebsiteOfficial website
Logo of the Counter-Intelligence Department
Department "K" (Fights corruption and organized crime)
Badge of the Investigation Administration

The Security Service of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Служба безпеки України, romanizedSluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy; abbreviated as SBU[a] 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.

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]

  1. ^ "Official website of the authority. Contact Us". 2017. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017.
  2. ^ "У СБУ розповіли, скільки співробітників працює в спецслужбі". glavcom.ua. November 25, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "Малюк став повноцінним головою СБУ. Чим відомий борець з "агентурою в рясах"" [The kid became a full-fledged head of the SBU. What is the fighter with the "agency in cassocks" known for?]. BBC Ukrainian (in Ukrainian). February 7, 2023.
  5. ^ "SSU reform". SSU. Retrieved July 22, 2022. The Constitution of Ukraine defines the status of the SSU as a military institution.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference voausb26715 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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