Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Збройні сили України [ЗСУ]; Zbroini syly Ukrainy, [ZSU]) are the military forces of Ukraine. They are the main force against any military action against the nation of Ukraine. All military and security forces are under the command of the president of Ukraine. This includes the Armed Forces. They are subject to oversight by a parliamentary commission.

Armed Forces of Ukraine
Збройні сили України (Ukrainian)
Emblem of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.svg
Emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Established 29 March 1917; 107 years ago (1917-03-29)[a]
Current form 6 December 1991; 32 years ago (1991-12-06)[1]
Parts
Headquarters Ministry of Defence Building, Povitroflotskyi Square, Kyiv
Leadership
Supreme Commander-in-Chief Flag of the President of Ukraine.svg Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Minister of Defence Standard of the Ukrainian Defense Minister rect.svg Oleksii Reznikov[3]
Commander-in-Chief Standard of Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff rect.svg Valerii Zaluzhnyi[4]
Serving soldiers
Military age 18[5]
Conscription 12–18 months (depending on branches)
Available to
be a soldier
11,149,646, age 16–49 (2015)
Fit to be
a soldier
6,970,035, age 16–49 (2015)
Reaching military
age annually
470,406 (2021)
Active employees/soldiers 245,000 (2022)[6]
Reserve personnel 220,000 (2022)
Deployed personnel 40,114 (2021)[7]
Expenditures
Budget 136 billion
4.6 billion (2020)[8]
Percent of GDP 3% (2020)[8]
Industry
Suppliers from inland Ukroboronprom (Ukrainian Defence Industry)
Suppliers from
foreign countries
See also
History * Ukrainian–Soviet War
Ranks Military ranks of Ukraine

Ensign of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.svg
Flag of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Contents

Ukraine's armed forces include the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the Ukrainian Air Force, the Ukrainian Navy, the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces and the Special Operations Forces. The navy of Ukraine has its own small Ukrainian Naval Infantry force. It also has its own Ukrainian Naval Aviation force. The Ukrainian Sea Guard is the coast guard service of Ukraine. It is a part of the Border Guard Service. It is not a part of the navy.

Size

Because of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in 2014, the president had the leaders of oblasts of Ukraine create units which are made up of volunteers. These groups are under the control of the government's Territorial Defense Forces. At first, the government gave these units very little money. Most of their funding came from donations.

In November 2014, most of the territorial defense battalions were made a part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The National Guard of Ukraine is a paramilitary reserve unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

After the fighting with Russia in 2014, Ukraine increased the size of its armed forces to 204,000 soldiers. This does not include additional forces such as the border guards, the new National Guard of Ukraine or the security service.[9] The current size of Ukraine's armed forces is 250,000. Of that number, 215,000 are military personnel. It is the second largest in the region. Only Russia has a larger military in the region.[10] In 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered that the size of the military would be increased by 100,000 by 2025. He also ordered that conscription would end in 2024. Conscription will be replaced with short-term military training.[11]

Military units of other countries have taken part in military exercises with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine.[12] Many of these exercises have been held under the NATO program Partnership for Peace.

Armed Forces Of Ukraine Media

Notes

  1. On this day, at the meeting of the military garrison of Kyiv, the first military organization was created – Ukrainian Military Club named after Hetman Pavel Polubotko. The main task of the organization was to "unite all Ukrainian soldiers in the immediate organization of the national army, as a powerful military force, without which it is impossible to think of gaining full freedom of Ukraine».

References

  1. "Про Збройні Сили України – від 6 December 1991 № 1934-XII". zakon1.rada.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  2. Special Operations Forces, what will the new branch be like? Archived 2015-09-21 at the Wayback Machine. ESPRESO. 22 April 2015
  3. Ukrainian Lawmakers Approve Reznikov As New Defense Minister, Radio Free Europe (4 November 2021)
  4. "Valeriy Zaluzhny appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces instead of Khomchak – Zelensky's press secretary". InterFax-Ukrain. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. "Article 15. Conscription age. Conscription of citizens of Ukraine for military service. In peacetime conscripts in peacetime shall be called up for this purpose by the state of health of Ukrainian citizens who have reached the age of 18 by the date of conscription." Law 2232-XII of 25 March 1992 "On Military Duty and Military Service" (ed. Of 15 January 2015)
  6. "Президент пропонує збільшити чисельність ЗСУ на 11000 для формування Сил територіальної оборони". Ukrainian Military Pages. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  7. "Чисельність ЗСУ і витрати на утримання в 2021 році". Ukrainian Military Pages. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  8. 8.0 8.1 У 2020 році на безпеку і оборону витратять більше ніж у 2019 – Гончарук. https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/10/8/7228477/. 
  9. "Ukraine plans to double military budget against fighting in east". Deutsche Welle. 12 December 2014. http://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-plans-to-double-military-budget-against-fighting-in-east/a-18125986. Retrieved 9 February 2016. 
  10. Shynko, Andriy (18 February 2021). "Чисельність ЗСУ і витрати на утримання в 2021 році" [The number of the Armed Forces and maintenance costs in 2021]. Ukrainian Military Pages (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 15 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  11. Mikhail Shtekel (2022-02-03) (in Ukrainian). Без призову та плюс 20 бригад: чи реальні плани Зеленського?. https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/armiya-zbilshennya-zelensky-russia/31683587.html. 
  12. "Parliament approves admission of military units of foreign states to Ukraine for exercises". Kyiv Post. 18 May 2010. http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/parliament-approves-admission-of-military-units-of-67094.html. Retrieved 9 February 2016.