State Emergency Service of Ukraine
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (), until December 24, 2012 the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine (), is the main executive body tasked with carrying out state policy in the spheres of civil defence, rescue, creating and managing the system of insurance fund documentation, utilization of radioactive wastes, protection of population and territory in emergency situations, emergency prevention and response, liquidation in the aftermath, and the Chernobyl catastrophe. It is abbreviated as ДСНС [України]. It also directly administers the zone of alienation located just north of Kyiv. Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs , the agency's motto is "To prevent. To rescue. To help." (). History. The former ministry was created in 1996 with the merger of the state civil defense body and the Ukrainian ministry in charge of protecting the population from the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe. Until 1991, the latter was a state committee of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, while state civil defense was part of the USSR's All-Union civil defense network. In 2003, the ministry took over control of the firefighting service, previously under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (militsiya). The  ministry had been part of the military reserve of the Ukrainian armed forces, but after the 2003 reform and fire services merger, all militarized formations were dissolved, and in 2005, the agency became officially non-military and focused on rescue services. Until the administrative reform of December 9, 2010, the body was called Ministry of Ukraine in emergencies and the protection of the population from the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe. After the reform, three major central executive power bodies were directly subordinated to it: On December 24, 2012, the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine was transformed into the State  Emergency Service and placed under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence. On 25 April 2014, the service was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. State Emergency Service Aviation. The Special Aviation Unit and Operational Rescue Service of the State Emergency Service (Спеціальний авіаційний загін оперативно-рятувальної служби цивільного захисту) is based in the city of Nizhyn. The Special Aviation Unit can work independently or in cooperation with other State Emergency Service units to protect population and territory, material and cultural values and the environment during emergencies, especially for work performed under difficult conditions. As of September 2018, three H225  helicopters were also to serve in State Emergency Service Aviation.