Ukraine to increase SBU’s combat unit to over 10,000 special operators and rename “Alpha”.
While the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is transferring “excess personnel” to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it simultaneously seeks to establish a powerful combat force — over 10,000 special operations troops.
A draft law (No. 13353), registered on June 9, proposes amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Security Service of Ukraine” regarding the total number of its personnel.
Currently, the SBU is capped at 27,000 personnel, increasing to 31,000 in special periods (excluding martial law), and during martial law, the number is determined by the Mobilization Plan of Ukraine.
The draft law proposes increasing these limits:
- up to 37,000 personnel in peacetime,
- up to 41,000 in special periods.
It further stipulates that the SBU unit responsible for operational combat activities and special operations (Special Operations Center "A", or CSO "A", known as "Alpha") must consist of no fewer than 10,000 personnel in both peacetime and wartime.
The draft law is supported by members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, and by over 100 MPs across different factions.
The initiative follows the successful SBU special operation “Pavutynnya” ("Spiderweb"), during which the Ukrainian security service reportedly destroyed 34% of the Russian Federation's strategic aviation.
Additionally, the bill proposes renaming the “Alpha” unit from “the unit for combating terrorism and protecting participants in criminal proceedings and law enforcement officers” to “the unit conducting operational combat activities and special operations (Special Operations Center ‘A’).”
The law would also formally grant SBU military personnel the right to use weapons and combat equipment in cases established for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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