Ukraine without Kuchma
The force came to worldwide attention during the Ukraine without Kuchma riots, as well as the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution. Berkut is essentially a successor to the OMON special police units of the Soviet Union and is analogous to SWAT teams in the United States. A Berkut unit was stationed in most cities of regional significance. The unit specialized in riot control and tactical law enforcement. Due to Berkut units being stationed in most regions of Ukraine, the term became synonymous with Spetsnaz or law enforcement and many special police units were referred to by the name.