TopGuard and SBU: Counter-Terrorist Drills in Kyiv
Security officers, demining specialists, robots, ambulances, and fire brigades.
The roar of helicopters overhead, explosions, shattered windows, and the wail of emergency vehicle sirens — overall, everything looked like a good Hollywood action movie. In reality, however, these events had nothing to do with cinema.
In Kyiv, scheduled tactical counter-terrorism exercises were conducted by the Anti-Terrorist Center of the Security Service of Ukraine. According to the scenario, several facilities in the city center were simultaneously attacked by “terrorists”: the Embassy of the State of Israel, as well as facilities protected by the international security company TopGuard (TOPGUARD SECURITY) — the Central Synagogue on Shota Rustaveli Street and the Jewish Children’s School on Vatutin Avenue.
The purpose of such exercises is the practical rehearsal of the force phase of a counter-terrorism operation in an urban environment, prevention of a possible terrorist act, and minimization of its consequences.
The exercises involved special units of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, as well as full-time security personnel of TopGuard assigned to these facilities. The leading role was played by the Anti-Terrorist Center’s special forces, while all other units were tasked with clearly and promptly executing instructions from the coordination group. For TopGuard specialists, this posed no difficulty: these were not the first joint exercises. Previously, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and TopGuard jointly worked on security tasks for EURO 2012 at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex. Moreover, many veterans of the Alpha unit continued their careers at TopGuard, allowing seamless coordination with former colleagues.
It is encouraging that the exercises received high praise both from members of the Interagency Coordination Commission of the Anti-Terrorist Center and from representatives of foreign partner special services.
The Ambassador of Israel to Ukraine, Reuven Din El, told the press: “I am impressed by the work of the Ukrainian special services. We now feel safe. And broken glass is not a problem — we will call a glazier.”
P.S. According to media reports, the Ambassador previously served as an officer of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and therefore can assess terrorism and counter-terrorism from a professional perspective.
