The Shakhtarsk Battalion (Батальйон «Шахтарськ») is a (Pro-Ukraine) Volunteer Battalion, it was initially known as the Ukraine Battalion (Батальйон «Україна»), it was assigned to the Ukrainian Special Tasks Patrol Police.
The Battalion was founded by Oleh Liashko of the Radical Party of Oleh Liashko, some Shakhtarsk veterans also acted as representatives of the Party in Ukrainian elections.
The Battalion’s leader was Ruslan Onishenko, Alexey ‘Stalker’ Svinarenko was previously a member.
The Battalion also initially included troops aligned to the Brotherhood movement under the name of the “Jesus Christ Hundred”, but they later split off from the unit and formed their own group, the St Mary’s Battalion, some Right Sector members were also affiliated with Shakhtarsk:
In addition to convicts, the battalion includes Ukrainian nationalists, including ones from the Right Sector and Spilna Sprava (Common Cause) groups. The Shakhtarsk battalion initially included the Jesus Christ Hundred, linked to ultranationalist Dmytro Korchinsky’s Brotherhood right-wing group. But this group later became a separate unit, called the St. Mary Battalion.
The Tornado battalion has several female snipers. One of them, a pro-Ukrainian native of Luhansk, says that she had joined the battalion because she had no other choice after the city was seized by Russian-backed insurgents in April 2014. Another one hails from central Ukraine and is a member of the Right Sector.
The Battalion was later disbanded and reformed as the Tornado Battalion:
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has disbanded the Shakhtarsk special operations traffic police battalion after some of its officers were accused of looting, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told one of the country’s television stations.
“The Shakhtarsk battalion, which fought excellently near Ilovaisk, was disbanded on orders issued by the minister because it was involved in repeated instances of looting in Volnovakha and in other situations,” Avakov was quoted as saying on Friday by Radio Liberty.
Complicated history
The battalion, set up in June 2014, was initially called Shakhtarsk after a city in Donetsk Oblast but was dissolved in October because of accusations of looting. It was soon resurrected as the Tornado Battalion.
Tornado fighters admit that cases of looting had taken place but they argue that the media have greatly exaggerated their extent. Moreover, those accused of looting have been expelled from the unit, and currently the crime is severely punished, they say.
In addition to convicts, the battalion includes Ukrainian nationalists, including ones from the Right Sector and Spilna Sprava (Common Cause) groups. The Shakhtarsk battalion initially included the Jesus Christ Hundred, linked to ultranationalist Dmytro Korchinsky’s Brotherhood right-wing group. But this group later became a separate unit, called the St. Mary Battalion.
Return to 000. MOC Notables Pro-Ukrainian