Military of Ukraine
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| Ukrainian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Military manpower | |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Availability | males age 15-49: 12,196,319 (2003 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually | males: 386,945 (2003 est.) |
| Military expenditures | |
| Dollar figure | $617.9 million (FY2002 est.) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY2002 est.) |
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Збройні сили України, ЗСУ, Zbroyni Syly Ukrainy, ZSU) were formed from portions of the collapsing Soviet Armed Forces in the early 1990s.
Ukraine's stated national policy is Euro-Atlantic integration, including with both NATO and the European Union. Ukraine has a "Distinctive Partnership" with NATO and has been an active participant in Partnership for Peace exercises and in Balkans peacekeeping. This close relationship with NATO has been most apparent with Ukrainian cooperation and combined peacekeeping operations with its neighbor Poland, in places such as Kosovo and Iraq. However the continuing relationship with Russia complicates these linkages.
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[edit] History
As the Soviet Union dissolved during 1990 and 1991, 780,000 Soviet military personnel remained located in Ukraine’s three military district. This mass was not an army but a force grouping, without a national Ministry of Defence, without a General Staff and without central organs of command and control. 'This grouping, its inventory of equipment and its officer corps were designed for one purpose: to wage combined arms, coalition, offensive (and nuclear) warfare against NATO on an external front'.[1]
On August 24, 1991, the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, enacted a resolution to take jurisdiction over all formations of the armed forces of the former Soviet Union stationed on Ukrainian soil, and to establish one of the key agencies, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
Inherent in the process of creating a domestic military were political decisions by the Ukrainian leadership regarding the country's non-nuclear and foreign status. Included in this was the definition, agreement and ratification of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) which not only established the maximum level of armament for each republic of the former USSR, but also a special ceiling for the so-called CFE "Flank Region". Included in the region were Ukraine's Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Also key for the creation of a Ukrainian military was the 1992 Tashkent Treaty, which laid out aspirations for a CIS military that would prove impossible to develop because the former republics of the USSR all wished to go their own way, ripping the intricate Soviet military machine into pieces.
The military and security forces, including the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a number of independent "militarized institutions" (paramilitary forces) are under the command of the Ukrainian President, and subject to oversight by a permanent parliamentary commission. The Ukrainian military's tactics and organization are heavily dependent on Cold War tactics, and former Soviet Union organization. Ukraine has however been pursuing a policy of independence from Russian dominance, and have taken steps towards closer ties with the West.
However, Ukraine retains tight military relations with Russia, mostly inherited from the common Soviet history. Common use of naval bases in Crimean and joint air defense efforts are the most intense branches of such cooperation. This cooperation is a permanent irritant in bilateral relations. But the country is unable to drop such ties quickly, being econonomically dependent on Moscow.
The nuclear disarmament of Ukraine was undertaken during the early 1990s. This was the first time in human history that a country voluntarily gave up the use of strategic nuclear weapons. As of January 1, 1996, no military nuclear equipment or materials remained on Ukrainian territory.
Plagued at times by hostile relations with Russia following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been steadfastly trying to develop its own independent military industry. Notable results of this effort are the Ukrainian-built T-84 main battle tank, currently in service, and the aircraft manufacturer Antonov.
[edit] Organisation
The Ukrainian armed forces are largely made up of conscripts. The total personnel (including civilian workers) numbers at 303,800, although plans for reductions to around 275,000 exist. The branch structure is as follows, following the Ukrainian Air Force's incorporation of the Ukrainian Air Defense Force in 2004(IISS Military Balance 2006):
- Ukrainian Army: 125,000 (2 tank divisions, 6 mech brigade, 2 air mobile regiment, 1 air mobile division, 1 mech inf regiment, 1 SF brigade, 2 mechanised divisions, combat support formations)
- Ukrainian Air Force : 49,100 (3 Su-24 Fencer regiments, 7 regiments with Fulcrum and Flanker, two regiments with Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot, two regiments with 29 Su-24MR reconnaissance Fencer, three transport regiments, some support helicopter squadrons, one helicopter training regiment, five air training regiments with 120 L-39 Albatros)
- Ukrainian Navy: 13,500
- Paramilitary:
- Internal Troops (Ministry of Internal Affairs): est. 39,900
- Border Guard: 45,000, including Ukrainian Sea Guard: 14,000
- Civil Defence Troops (Ministry of Emergency Situations): 9,500+
In 1997, Ukraine and Poland signed an Agreement on the formation of a Joint Peacekeeping Battalion, which became fully operational in 1999 in the Kosovo Conflict.
[edit] Recent Operations
Ukraine has been playing an increasingly larger role in peacekeeping operations. Since 1997, Ukraine has been closely working with NATO, and especially Poland. A Ukrainian unit is deployed in Iraq, as part of the Multinational force in Iraq under Polish command. A Ukrainian unit is also deployed in Lebanon, as part of the Polish-led UN Interim Force enforcing the mandated ceasefire agreement. Ukrainian troops are also deployed as part of the Ukrainian-Polish Battalion (UKRPOLBAT) in Kosovo. There is also a maintenance and training battalion deployed in Sierra Leone. Total Ukrainian Military deployment around the world is about 2,800 troops.
[edit] Internal security during election unrest
The Orange Revolution was a series of peaceful protests (protected by some parts of the military against other parts) that overturned a fraudulent election for the Presidency in the winter of 2004-2005 resulting in the election of Yushchenko.
On November 28, 2004 over 10,000 IM (Internal Ministry) troops mobilized to put down the protests in Independence Square in Kiev according to their commander Lt. Gen. Sergei Popkov. The SBU (Ukrainian Security Service, successor to KGB) warned opposition leaders of the crackdown. Oleksandev Galaka, head of GRU (military intelligence) made calls to "prevent bloodshed". Col. Gen. Ihor P. Smesko (SBU chief) and Maj. Gen. Vitaly Romanchenko (military counter-intelligence chief) both warned Popkov to pull back his troops, which he did. Thus, the senior officers of the Ukrainian Security Services claimed the credit for averting a situation that they said risked bloodshed and, possibly, a civil war.[1]
[edit] Current deployment outside Ukraine
- Sierra Leone: (UNAMSIL) - 734 soldiers
- Lebanon: UN Interim Force (PMC/UNIFIL) - 200 soldiers
- Kosovo: International Kosovo Force (PMU/KFOR) - 199 soldiers
[edit] Other militarized institutions of Ukraine
Ukraine's militarized institutions independent from Armed Forces of Ukraine include:
- Vnutrishni Viys'ka (Ukrainian: Внутрішні війська) - literally "Internal Troops" - subordinated to the national police authority - Ministry of Internal Affairs
- Motoryzovani Viys'kovi Tchastyny Militsiyi (Ukrainian: Моторизовані військові частини міліції) - literally "Motorized military troops of Militsiya" - also subordinated to the Ministry of Interior Affairs
- Derzhavna Prykordonna Sluzhba Ukrayiny (Ukrainian: Державна прикордонна служба України) - literally "State Border Guard Service of Ukraine", independent service
- Mors'ka Ohorona (Ukrainian: Морська охорона) - literally "Sea Guard" - the coast guard within the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
- various military troops of the SBU (no generic name)
- Viys'ka Tsyvil'noho Zakhystu (Ukrainian: Війська цивільного захисту) - literally "Civil Defense Troops" - subordinated to the Ministry of Emergency Situations;
- Spetsial'na Sluzhba Transportu (Ukrainian: Спеціальна служба транспорту) - literally "Special Transportation Service" - subordinated to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Although not the parts of Armed Forces, these militarized institutions are supposed to fall under Armed Forces' command during wartime.
[edit] See also
- Sknyliv (Ukraine) airshow disaster
- Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 accident
- Ukrainian Military Organization
[edit] External links and Sources
- ^ James Sherr, CSRC, 2002
- James Sherr, 'Ukraine's Defence Reform: An Update', Conflict Studies Research Centre, 2002
- (English)/(Ukrainian) Official Website of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense: in English, in Ukrainian
- (Ukrainian) Viysko Ukrayiny - Ministry of Defense' Army of Ukraine magazine
- (Ukrainian) Ukraine Defence White Book 2005PDF
- (English) THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE (a page on the country-info site: structure, statistics, signs)
- (English) "Defense-Express" specialized news agency (a project of Ukrainian "Center for Army Conversion and Disarmament Studies" NGO; subscription needed for most of the material)
- (English) Ukrainian Army military history magazine (including info on insignia and military museums)
