[2] They were subordinate to the Chief Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs (the country's civilian police authority),[3] and cooperate with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

The VV were used to assist militsiya in policing, deal with riots and internal armed conflicts, and safeguard important facilities such as nuclear power plants.

In wartime, the Internal Troops were under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian armed forces for local defense and rear area security.

On November 28, 2004 over 10,000 Internal Troops mobilized to suppress protests on Independence Square in Kyiv by orders of their commander, Lt. Gen. Sergei Popkov.

SBU senior officers claimed credit for averting a situation they said risked bloodshed and, possibly, civil war.

Although they reported to a civilian militsiya, the Internal Troops of Ukraine were a paramilitary force with a centralized system of ranks and service.

In 2000 the 51st Separate Helicopter Brigade was reinforced by an aviation squadron from the Yaguar special-operations unit, obtaining an additional airfield in Kalynivka, Vinnytsia Oblast.

There were six territorial commands (Територіальним командуванням), abbreviated TpK (EN:Trk): West, North, East, Center, South, and Crimea.

All were named for felidae: Bars (Snow Leopard, near Kyiv), Yahuar (Jaguar in Vinnytsia Oblast), and Hepard (Cheetah in Zaporizhzhia).

The Bars brigade, part of the Kyiv territorial command, includes a special-assignment Omega battalion (an anti-terrorist sniper unit).

Skorpion, an anti-terrorist unit that maintains the security of nuclear facilities such as the Chernobyl AES, was originally part of the National Guard of Ukraine.