The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (, abbreviated HUR, GUR or HUR MOU), also known in English as the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), is the military intelligence service of the Ukrainian government. It is an agency of the Ministry of Defence, not the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

History

The agency was established from the existing intelligence assets of the Kyiv, Odesa and Carpathian military districts of the Soviet Armed Forces and its Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine. The Intelligence Directorate of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was established in February 1992. Based on a presidential decree issued on September 7, 1992, the Strategic Military Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence was created. The existence of two separate agencies with similar responsibilities, and reporting to different authorities, hampered the development of an effective military intelligence system. On July 6, 1993, the Decree of the President of Ukraine ordered the merging of the two agencies to form the Main Military Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. It was renamed the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, or Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) for short, on April 4, 1994. On March 22, 2001, the Ukrainian parliament (Rada) ratified the Law of Ukraine "On Intelligence Agencies of Ukraine". The HUR was given the status of special government authority. On August 18, 2021, HUR special forces moved on Il-76MDs from the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force and flew to Kabul with the mission of evacuating citizens of Ukraine and foreigners during the 2021 Kabul airlift. In total, the aircraft of the brigade made six flights and transported more than 700 citizens of different countries. Special forces went to Kabul three times a day to find and bring citizens who were to be evacuated to the Kabul airport. On September 20, 2023, CNN reported that Ukrainian special forces were likely behind multiple attacks on Wagner-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forces in Sudan, using DJI Mavic 3 and first-person view (FPV) drones. In May 2023, HUR Chief Kyrylo Budanov vowed to “destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world, wherever they are.” In March 2024, reports confirmed that HUR operators from the "Timur" unit were actively fighting Wagner and RSF in Sudan.

Emblem

In 2016, the HUR emblem was changed to an illustration of an owl plunging a sword into Russia. The owl has been said to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to the emblem of the Spetsnaz special forces of the Russian GRU, which depicts a bat - a natural prey of the owl. In addition, the motto "The wise will rule over the stars" ostensibly alludes to the GRU's motto "Only the stars are above us". The new emblem was met with outrage from Russian journalists and politicians, including Dmitry Rogozin, and with some calling it a provocation.

Spheres of activity

The Main Directorate of Intelligence conducts its activity in the military, political, technical, economic, signals, informational and environmental spheres. The major missions of the directorate are:

Organization

The HUR has an executive office and several agency-wide functions, and five major directorates and departments consisting of the following: Directorates: Departments:

Combat formations

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the only field reconnaissance unit of the HUR was a special unit subordinated to the Directorate's 4th Special Intelligence Service (4-та Служба спеціальної розвідки): As of 2024, the units subordinate to the HUR include: Reconnaissance units under AFU: Special purpose units under AFU control:

Legal basis

The Main Directorate of Intelligence is legally allowed to operate based upon the following documents:

Directors

Notable members