Armed Forces of Ukraine

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Armed Forces of Ukraine
Збройні сили України (Ukrainian)
Emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Flag of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Founded29 March 1917; 106 years ago (1917-03-29)[a]
Current form6 December 1991; 32 years ago (1991-12-06)[1]
Service branches
HeadquartersMinistry of Defence Building, Povitroflotskyi Square, Kyiv
Leadership
Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi
Personnel
Military age18[3]
Expenditures
Budget136 billion
4.6 billion (2020)[4]
Percent of GDP3% (2020)[4]
Industry
Domestic suppliersUkroboronprom (Ukrainian Defence Industry)
Foreign suppliers
Related articles
History
RanksMilitary ranks 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.

Contents[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

Military units of other countries have taken part in military exercises with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine.[8] Many of these exercises have been held under the NATO program Partnership for Peace.


Notes[change | change source]

  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[change | change source]

  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. "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)
  4. 4.0 4.1 "У 2020 році на безпеку і оборону витратять більше ніж у 2019 – Гончарук". Українська Правда.
  5. "Ukraine plans to double military budget against fighting in east". Deutsche Welle. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  6. 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.
  7. Mikhail Shtekel (3 February 2022). "Без призову та плюс 20 бригад: чи реальні плани Зеленського?" [No conscription and plus 20 brigades: are Zelensky's plans real?]. Radio Svoboda (in Ukrainian).
  8. "Parliament approves admission of military units of foreign states to Ukraine for exercises". Kyiv Post. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.