Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Збройні сили України, romanized: Zbroini syly Ukrainy; abbreviated as ZSU or AFU) 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 after Ukrainian independence in 1991.
Ukrainian Armed Forces | |
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Збройні сили України | |
Emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine | |
Flag of the Armed Forces of Ukraine | |
Founded | 29 March 1917 |
Current form | 6 December 1991 |
Service branches |
Unmanned Systems Forces |
Headquarters | Ministry of Defence Building, Povitrianykh Syl Avenue, Kyiv |
Website | www |
Leadership | |
Supreme Commander-in-Chief | Volodymyr Zelenskyy |
Minister of Defence | Rustem Umerov |
Commander-in-Chief | Oleksandr Syrskyi |
Personnel | |
Military age | 18 |
Conscription | 12–18 months (depending on branches) |
Active personnel | 1,000,000+ (2024) |
Reserve personnel | 2,000,000 (2024) |
Expenditures | |
Budget | $45 billion (2024) foreign military aid |
Percent of GDP | 18% (2024) |
Industry | |
Domestic suppliers | Ukrainian Defense Industry |
Foreign suppliers | United States United Kingdom Bulgaria Canada Denmark Romania Australia New Zealand Poland Germany France Lithuania Latvia Estonia Czech Republic Italy Finland Sweden Spain Israel Turkey NATO European Union South Korea Republic of China (Taiwan) Japan Thailand United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia |
Related articles | |
History |
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Ranks | Military ranks of Ukraine |
Politics of Ukraine |
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Ukraine portal
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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, and the Territorial Defense Forces. 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 Air Defence Forces were a military branch responsible for anti-aircraft warfare from 1991 until it was merged with the Air Force in 2004.
Following hostilities with Russia in 2014, Ukraine increased the size of its armed forces. In response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in 2014, the president commissioned the governors of regions of Ukraine to create volunteer units under the government's Territorial Defense Forces. These units received minimal funding from regional budgets initially and mostly relied on donations. In November 2014, most of the territorial defense battalions were integrated into the Ground Forces. 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. Many of these exercises have been held under the NATO cooperation program Partnership for Peace. Soviet era military equipment is gradually being replenished with NATO standard arms.