of Luhansk People's Republic separatists. The Siege of the Luhansk Border Base resulted in 10 wounded Border Guards until they surrendered and withdrew. In 2022, during the Battle of Snake Island 13 Border Troops were attacked and captured by Russian warships. A unit of Border Guards was stationed in Mariupol and fought during the Siege of Mariupol. In 20 April, the Border Guards were stranded in an encircled pocket at the Mariupol sea port together with National Police of Ukraine, until they were rescued by the Azov Regiment and retreated into the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. Structure State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is a special enforcement branch tasked with the protection of Ukrainian state border on land, sea or any other inland water obstacle. During wartime, the Border Guards units fall under the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They were the first Ukrainian units to counter Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. Volunteer Units Cossack Regiment Shevchenko Special Purpose Border Battalion Sever 8th "Steel Cordon" Offensive (Border) Infantry Brigade (raised 2023) Regular units Northern detachment: Chernihiv Lutsk Zhytomyr Western detachment: Chernivtsi Chop Lviv Mostissky Mukachevo Southern detachment: Belgorod-Dniester Izmail Mogilev-Podolsky Podilsky Odesa Odesa Marines Odesa Air Squad Eastern detachment: Donetsk Kharkiv Kharkiv Air Squad Kramatorsk Luhansk Mariupol Marines Sumy Black sea detachment & Special Units: Berdyansk Kherson Commanders Directors (Commanders) of the Border Guard Service (Border Troops) 1991-1994 Valeriy Hubenko 1994-1999 Viktor Bannykh 1999-2001 Borys Oleksiyenko 2001-2014 Mykola Lytvyn 2014-2017 Viktor Nazarenko 2017-2019 Petro Tsyhykal 2019–present Serhiy Deyneko Military ranks Uniform Long Service Medal Equipment Gallery See also Border control State Border of Ukraine Security Service of Ukraine List of national border guard agencies References External links Official website Agency's history page on official website Ukraine Borders of Ukraine