Armed Forces of Ukraine

Ukrainian Armed Forces
Збройні сили України (Ukrainian)
Emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Flag of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Founded29 March 1917; 107 years ago (1917-03-29)
Current form6 December 1991; 32 years ago (1991-12-06)[1]
Service branches
Territorial Defense Forces[3]
Unmanned Systems Forces[4]
HeadquartersMinistry of Defence Building, Povitrianykh Syl Avenue, Kyiv
Websitewww.mil.gov.ua
Leadership
Supreme Commander-in-Chief President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi
Personnel
Military age18[5]
Conscription12–18 months (depending on branches)[6][need quotation to verify][7][failed verification]
Active personnel1,260,000 (2024 estimate)[8]
Reserve personnel2,500,000
Expenditure
Budget$64.8 billion ₴ 2.4 trillion (2024)[9][10] foreign military aid
Percent of GDP37% (2024)[citation needed]
Industry
Domestic suppliersUkrainian Defense Industry
Foreign suppliers
Current suppliers[14]
Former suppliers
Related articles
History
RanksMilitary ranks of Ukraine

The Armed Forces of Ukraine[b] (abbreviated as AFU)[c] are the military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the President of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rada parliamentary commission. They trace their lineage to 1917, while the modern armed forces were formed again in 1991. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are the fifth largest armed force in the world in terms of both active personnel as well as total number of personnel with the eighth largest defence budget in the world, and it also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleets in the world.[15] Due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, ongoing in 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been described as "the most battle-hardened in Europe,"[16] but has suffered many casualties.[17]

Ukraine's armed forces are composed of the Ground Forces, the Air Force, the Navy, the Air Assault Forces, the Marine Corps, the Special Operations Forces, the Unmanned Systems Forces, and the Territorial Defense Forces.[18] Ukraine's navy includes its own Naval Aviation. The Sea Guard is the coast guard service of Ukraine, and it is organized as part of the Border Guard Service, not subordinate to the navy. The National Guard serves as a paramilitary reserve component of the Armed Forces.

Military units of other countries have participated regularly in multinational military exercises in Ukraine.[19] Many of these exercises have been held under the NATO cooperation program Partnership for Peace. As of 2024, with over $120 billion in foreign military aid in addition to being one of the best-funded armed forces in the world, the Soviet era military equipments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fast being replaced with vast amounts of NATO standard military equipments.[20]

  1. ^ "Про Збройні Сили України № 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. ^ "Ukraine's new military branch: Citizens protecting their neighborhood". POLITICO. 13 February 2022. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  4. ^ Rachel Amran (6 February 2024). "Zelensky: Ukrainian military to create separate branch dedicated to drones". The Kyiv Independent.
  5. ^ "Стаття 15. Призовний вік. Призов громадян України на строкову військову службу. На строкову військову службу в мирний час призиваються придатні для цього за станом здоров'я громадяни України чоловічої статі, яким до дня відправлення у військові частини виповнилося 18 років"
    Закон № 2232-XII від 25 March 1992 "Про військовий обов'язок і військову службу" (ред. від 15 January 2015)
  6. ^ "Ukraine lowers its conscription age to 25 to plug a shortfall in troop numbers fighting Russia". The Hindu. 3 April 2024.
  7. ^ Sauer, Pjotr (2 April 2024). "Ukraine military draft age lowered to boost fighting force". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Ukraine needs 500,000 military recruits. Can it raise them?". www.ft.com. 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Ukraine's Budget for 2024 | Wilson Center".
  10. ^ "Ukraine's funding gap — by the numbers". 25 January 2024.
  11. ^ "US arms Ukraine with thousands of seized Iranian guns, rifles and munitions".
  12. ^ "Indian 155MM Artillery Shells Land up in Ukraine Despite Delhi's Neutral Stance; Third-Party Export Suspected". 3 January 2024.
  13. ^ "US arms Ukraine with thousands of seized Iranian guns, rifles and munitions". Al Jazeera. 10 April 2024. Archived from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Ukraine Support Tracker - A Database of Military, Financial and Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine".
  15. ^ "Ukrainian Drone Force". www.warpowerukraine.com.
  16. ^ "Ukrainian military now most powerful and battle-hardened in Europe, claims Foreign Minister". The Economic Times. 30 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Ukrainian Military Performance and Outlook".
  18. ^ Ponomarenko, Illia (7 January 2022). "Who can and can't join Ukraine's Territorial Defense Force". The Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "Ukraine weapons: What tanks and other equipment are the world giving?". BBC News. 1 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.


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