Territorial Defence Forces (Ukraine)

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The Territorial Defence Forces (abbr. TDF; Ukrainian: Війська територіальної оборони, romanized: Viiska terytorialnoi oborony, pronounced [wijsʲˈkɑ terɪtor⁽ʲ⁾iˈɑlʲnoji oboˈrɔnɪ], abbr. ВТО, VTO) are the military reserve component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Territorial Defence Forces were formed after the reorganization of the Territorial Defence Battalions, volunteer militias created during the war in Donbas under the command of the Ministry of Defence. Territorial Defence units existed from 2015 until 2021 in semi-organized forms until January 2022 when they were officially organized into a unified corps that formed a separate branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is formed by a core of part-time reservists, usually former combat veterans, and in cases of war can be expanded to include local civilian volunteers for local defense, in a case of mass mobilization, with the core expected to lead the mobilized volunteers. The TDF was officially activated with the start of the 2022...

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