URBAN FIGHTERS OF THE OUN SECURITY SERVICE (1941–1951): CREATION AND ACTIVITY

Abstract

On the basis of unknown and little-known materials, the peculiarities of the functioning of the urban armed forces of the SB have been revealed. It has been established that in many areas covered by the OUN network, the first began to be created in the fall of 1941 as a means of force against local wires against German and Soviet agents. The main tasks that were set before them in the first years of activity (reconnaissance, occasionally sabotage and terrorist operations) are highlighted. It was noted that with the approach of the front and in the conditions of the Soviet reality, the actions of the SB in the cities became more active, and the tasks expanded. Separately, attention is focused on one of the most important directions of the combat work of the SB in cities - the liquidation of Soviet assets. Isolated attempts to carry out mass terrorist attacks against party offi cials and detonation of administrative facilities are presented. The peculiarities of the preparation and implementation of the main armed actions (selection of executors, stages of preparation, direct execution) are revealed. Concrete examples show the effectiveness of such armed forces. At the same time, the activities of each of them became a practical demonstration of the inability of the MGB–MIA to protect their supporters. Territorial features of the functioning of the SB urban militias are shown (the size of the settlement, the number of Ukrainians, their national consciousness, the development of the local OUN network, etc.).It was found out that in 1946, the urban organizations of the OUN began to be liquidated, although the combat work of the SB itself intensified, and in important cities special combat units continued to exist for actions. Emphasis is placed on the practical importance of studying this issue in the context of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war and the enemy’s occupation of a significant territory of Ukraine in order to fi nd different forms of struggle against the occupiers and collaborators. Keywords OUN, SB, urban fighters, Western Ukraine.