Justification of the Role and Place of the National Guard of Ukraine in Stability Operations in the Field of Security

The study reveals the essence of stability operations in the field of security on the example of localization of a non-international armed conflict and justifies the role and place of the National Guard of Ukraine in such operations as opposed to other components of the security and defense forces. The author considers the status, purpose, role, place of various power structures and agencies that can provide capabilities to participate in stability operations in the field of security. A correct understanding of the role and place of the Guard in such operations will allow governing authorities at various levels to properly use the security capabilities of the National Guard of Ukraine, avoid duplicating functions and performing uncharacteristic tasks by defense forces. It is concluded that the use of the Guard in stability operations in the field of security should be consistent with its structure, authority, and purpose as a military formation with law enforcement functions, namely, to respond to large-scale crisis situations within the country that threaten the state security of Ukraine and require massive use of security forces. The National Guard of Ukraine should play a leading role in stability operations in the field of security in the context of a non-international armed conflict (state of emergency): it should form the basis of an interagency grouping of security forces and ensure command and control of such a grouping. Stability operations in the field of security related to the localization of a non-international armed conflict should be carried out under the legal regime of the state of emergency, and the Main Directorate of the National Guard of Ukraine should lead the military command in the state of emergency. If the security forces are unable to stabilize the situation, and the threat of internationalization of the conflict and/or an external military threat, martial law will need to be introduced (in this case those will be the stability operations in the field of defense). The results obtained in this study can be used in practice to plan the use of the National Guard of Ukraine in stability actions (operations) of the various kinds.