Lviv (2nd) Group of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army

Lviv (2nd) Group of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( Lvivska [2] hrupa UPA Buh). A division of the UPA-West, organized in 1943 out of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) units operating in the Second Military District, which consisted of the northern and eastern counties of Lviv oblast. In the spring of 1944 its units fought against the Polish Home Army on the northwestern border of Galicia, and in the autumn of 1944 they joined combat against NKVD troops. The largest battle occurred on 29 August near Kariv, Rava-Ruska county, when two UPA battalions and two training companies successfully fended off an attack by NKVD border guards. At its peak strength in late 1944, the Lviv Group had at least seven battalions and many independently operating companies. In 1945 the Second Military District was expanded to include the First Military District with Lviv city and the surrounding counties. It then encompassed the entire Lviv oblast, along with Rohatyn, Rudky, Mostyska, and (partly) Zhydachiv counties. The new military district was divided into 5 tactical sectors, numbered from 11 to 15, but the number of combat units in the region was reduced drastically, and by 1947 only platoon-size units were still operating in it. The Lviv Group ran the last UPA school for noncommissioned officers, which graduated a class on 6 December 1946. Two of its combat units, Pereiaslavy and Halaida-II, were active until the summer of 1947. The UPA Supreme Headquarters was located in the district, and Col Oleksa Hasyn and Brig Gen Roman Shukhevych fell in battle there. The group's commanders were Lt O. Lynda (nom de guerre: Yarema, 1943–4) and Maj V. Levkovych (nom de guerre: Vorony 1944–6).

Petro Sodol