Today, on December 6, for the second year in a row, in the face of of fierce counteraction to Russian aggression, all Ukrainians celebrate the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was on December 6, 1991, that the Law on the Armed Forces of Ukraine was adopted. of Ukraine was adopted on December 6, 1991. Two years later, the Verkhovna Rada established the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by its resolution, writes UNN.
History of creation
In the modern sense, the Ukrainian army began to be formed during the liberation struggle for independence in the 1920s.
Although belatedly, the Central Rada began the process of creating the Ukrainian army in 1917. began the process of creating a Ukrainian army in 1917. The process continued during the Hetmanate of Skoropadskyi and during the Directory.
At the same time, the Western Ukrainian People's Republic was forming the formation of the Ukrainian Galician Army.
At that time, the geopolitical situation was such that it was impossible to win the struggle for independence was not possible.
The next attempt to create a real Ukrainian army took place during World War II. For many years, UPA units fought fought against the Nazi and Soviet armies for many years.
Modernity, decline, revival
At the time of the declaration of Independence, there were about one million military personnel on the territory of Ukraine there were about one million soldiers of the Soviet army on the territory of Ukraine.
14 motorized infantry divisions, 4 tank divisions, 3 artillery divisions and 8 artillery brigades (9,293 tanks and 11,346 combat vehicles), 4 special special forces, 9 air defense brigades, 7 regiments of combat helicopters, three air armies (about 1,500 combat aircraft) and a separate air defense army. Sevastopol was the main base of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR.
The strategic nuclear forces deployed on the territory of Ukraine had 176 intercontinental Ukraine, had 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying a total of 1,272 nuclear warheads, and nuclear warheads, as well as about 2,500 tactical nuclear weapons.
Ukraine almost simultaneously gave up nuclear weapons and agreed to receive less than 1/5 of the fleet's ships.
Due to the chronic lack of funds, the number of the Armed Forces was constantly was constantly being reduced, and old equipment was destroyed as part of the disarmament process. New types of weapons were practically not produced.
The revival of the Ukrainian army began in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea and launched a hybrid aggression in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
War with Russia
The real test for the Armed Forces was a full-scale Russian invasion. Despite the numerical superiority of the Russians Despite the Russians' numerical superiority in equipment and manpower, the Ukrainian army broke the enemy's plans.
Currently, there are more than 820,000 soldiers in the Armed Forces. Of these, 117 thousand are officers, 178 thousand are sergeants, 516 thousand are soldiers, and the rest are cadets.