Employment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Different Periods of Anti-Terrorist Operation in Eastern Ukraine (2014–2018)

The article reviews issues related to the use of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in eastern Ukraine (2014-2018), which became a form of repel and deterrence of Russian aggression, began in Crimea in February 2014 and subsequently continued in eastern regions of Ukraine. According to the nature and consequences of hostilities, the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict is divided into initial and two main periods, within which a number of stages are defined, distinguished qualitatively in the nature and content of hostilities. The article shows how this affected the change of forms of the Armed Forces of Ukraine employment in the anti-terrorist operation. During the initial (Crimean) period, units and subdivisions of the Ukrainian army were not actually used to repel hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation, but later, when the Russian leadership began using a similar scenario of aggression in the eastern regions of Ukraine, the state responded with the armed fight. The authors believe that despite the swiftness of the first period, its events were characterized by frequent changes in the use of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - from patrolling and guarding important facilities to offensive, raid and search operations. The second period, according to the authors, was characterized by the conduct of the Ukrainian army’s defensive actions with the active use of maneuvers in various dangerous areas.