Army of Ukraine: strength and armament

The current trend towards globalization dictates to the whole world the principle of total friendship and disarmament. However, as history shows, any state should have powerful power structures so that neighboring countries can not exert any influence on it in their own interests. Even with the development of peaceful relations between many countries on the planet, there are still military conflicts. There are also terrorist organizations, the fight against which can be carried out exclusively through troops.

To ensure external security in Ukraine today there are structured and organized armed forces. They have their own tasks and functions. In addition, the army of Ukraine was formed over many centuries, which allows us to speak about the existence of historical traditions of the Cossack past directly in the Armed Forces. In recent years, the structure and functional activities of the armed forces have been rethought as a result of the emergence of new threats and a general world trend in the fight against terrorism. The article tells about the history of formation and other features of the army of Ukraine.

The notion of the armed forces

To date, they represent a structure of various military tasks and functions of the military formations of the state. Thanks to the APU, the territorial integrity of the state and its external security are in relative stability, if not to take into account recent developments in eastern Ukraine. Due to the development of democratic principles in Ukraine, the commander-in-chief of the army is the president of the state. The armed forces are equipped at the expense of recruitment for conscription military men aged 18 to 27 years. In addition, women can serve in the army, but on a contract basis. According to its combat power, the Ukrainian troops occupy the 21st place in the world. As for the term of the draft service, it is 18 months for people without higher education and 12 months for people who have it. It should be noted that the state of the armed forces of Ukraine is largely due to the history of development of both the state and its military sector.

History of the formation of the army: the early period

Today, among historians, there is no consensus about when the military sector began its formation. But the most common is the opinion that the APU state, or rather, some of its fundamental differences, appeared even in the times of Kievan Rus. Of course, the number of combat-ready troops of Ukraine at that time was much less than now. However, the territorial location of the ancestor of modern Ukraine and its political situation in many ways gave birth to some trends in military art that are relevant to this day. For example, Kievan Rus was in the center of Europe, that is, it had an advantageous tactical and commercial position. This fact largely caused the attacks of neighbors who wanted to take over these territories for their own benefit. Constant military conflicts brought up hardened and persistent people, who gradually began to form their statehood.

Fragility. Army after the USSR

After the collapse of Kievan Rus, the territory of modern Ukraine was divided between different states for a long time. And only in the XVII century the Ukrainian army was reborn again, thanks to the uprising led by Bogdan Khmelnitsky. At this time, the active formation of the institute of the hetmanate begins. Since that time, the whole world has learned about the existence of professional Ukrainian soldiers. Nevertheless, the most traditional principles and structure of the army were formed during the times of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of this state in 1990, the Supreme Council adopted the "Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine". The document proclaimed independence, the indivisibility of the republican authorities in the country. Already in 1991, all the military formations of the USSR, which were located on the territory of Ukraine, went into full control of this state. Thus, since the proclamation of independence, the Ukrainian army has developed. The evolution of the military sector has not been completed to this day.

Structure of the Ukrainian army

The army of Ukraine, whose strength is constantly changing, has its own internal structure, which is sufficiently effective for the implementation of the main functional tasks. It should also be noted that the structure of the army largely borrows the system of organization of the military sector in the USSR (with some changes). Thus, the APU today consists of military command and control agencies, as well as units, units, educational institutions and organizations. In addition, the structure includes the following types of troops, namely:

• ground troops;
• Air forces;
• Naval forces.

Such a three-element structure is generally accepted throughout the modern world.

Ground troops

The Ukrainian army, armaments, the number of which will be described later in the article, as already indicated earlier, contains in its structure land forces. In essence, they are the most numerous and main type of armed forces. After all, according to their functional purposes, the ground forces play a key role in the performance of combat missions. They are the most mobile and operational. The internal structure of the ground forces is a system that allows carrying out both peaceful tasks and combat missions. Today, this kind of APU also includes the following parts of the operational command, namely: operational command "North", "West", "South", "East".

In addition, in the structure of the ground forces there are separate, more mobile types of troops, thanks to which the most urgent military tasks are realized.

Airborne Forces

It should be noted that the army of Ukraine, whose strength will be represented in the article, contains in its structure landing troops, which, in turn, are part of the land forces. Military formations of this type brought the army the status of the most mobile and operational. After all, the Airborne Troops carry out tasks that are not put before any of the existing units. Paratroopers are created to act behind enemy lines. This means that they can be actively used in the conduct of antiterrorist, special and peacekeeping operations, which was clearly demonstrated by unrest in the east of Ukraine. In addition, the Airborne Forces actively cooperate with other units and arms of the armed forces that are part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition to amphibious forces, the structure of the land forces also includes missile, air defense and army aviation.

Military aviation of Ukraine

The Ukrainian Air Force is one of the armed forces that was created to protect the airspace of the state. It should be noted that in recent times there have been comparative characteristics, when the Russian army is estimated vs the army of Ukraine. So, as for the air force, in Ukraine they are at a lower level of combat readiness than in the neighboring country. This type of army lags behind the Russian in terms of financing and air equipment. Despite these rather negative indicators for the military sector of Ukraine, the pilots still carry out a number of important tasks.

The list of the main tasks of the Ukrainian Air Force

Earlier it was noted that the air forces carry out a whole range of specific tasks. These include the following:

• Protection and protection of airspace over the territory of the state;
• Superiority in the air before the air forces of other countries;
• Cover of land and sea troops by air attacks;
• The landing of landing troops in the rear of the enemy;
• Conducting reconnaissance operations from the air;
• Destruction of the main state units, economic and information sector of the enemy.

Thus, thanks to the presented list of functional tasks, one can see how the army of Ukraine in the 21st century has changed. After all, today the state aviation really has reached a fairly serious level.

Naval Forces

For a long time the Ukrainian fleet was famous for its mobility and speed. From history it is known that hetman Sagaidachny at the time defeated the neighborhood of Istanbul with a small flotilla of Cossacks. Today, the good traditions of the past are embodied in the modern Ukrainian fleet. The fact that Ukraine is among the powers that have access to the sea, causes the need for a powerful military group that could protect the territory of the state from attacks from water. Proceeding from this, the naval forces of Ukraine are intended to protect the state and its interests, as well as to defeat the enemy's naval military factions independently or in conjunction with air and land forces.

It should be noted that the structure of the Navy also includes some sorts of troops of a rather specific orientation, namely:

• Forces above water;
• Naval aviation;
• Coastal rocket and artillery troops;
• Marine Corps of Ukraine.

Since 2014, the main base of the Navy in Ukraine is the city of Odessa. It should be noted that parts of this kind of troops are located due to the existing operating area. The latter, in turn, includes the water areas of the Black and Azov Seas, other areas that are strategically important, taking into account the possible attack from the water.

Military service of law and order

The army of Ukraine, whose number will be presented further in the article, also has a military group, such as the law and order service. The subdivision was established in 2002. This body has the status of a special law enforcement agency. It operates within the armed forces of Ukraine. Its main goal is to ensure law and order in the ranks of the army, as well as directly protecting the rights, freedoms, life and health of servicemen and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces. In addition, the military law and order service monitors the maintenance of military discipline and legality. Thus, the actual state of the armed forces of Ukraine depends on the service of the law and order of military orientation.

The number and size of the army of Ukraine

Throughout certain historical stages, the Ukrainian army, strength, and armament, its condition were subjected to constant reforms. After all, the period of independence of this power is relatively small. Therefore, some sectors are not fully developed. Today, many experts are wondering about the strength of the Ukrainian army. After all, for a considerable period of time, this indicator has constantly changed. The last stage of reforming the army was launched in 2012 by the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych. At that time, the main task was "an adequate change in the Armed Forces, taking into account the capabilities of the state economy." Given the country's economic situation in 2012, the key concept of reform was the "cutback" of troops. Thus, the strength of the Ukrainian army has decreased by about 10,000 people by the end of 2012. The savings allowed some qualitative changes. For example, in the autumn of 2013, a five-year program of the Cabinet of Ministers was developed, which meant raising the fighting efficiency of troops. Already on October 14 of the same year, Ukraine finally switched to a contractual basis for the formation of military personnel through the suspension of urgent appeals.

At the turn of 2014-2015 in Ukraine, mobilization in the ranks of the army was resumed. This was done to resist the uprising in the east and southeast of the country. The number of the army of Ukraine for today is 250 thousand people. The increase was carried out taking into account the complex political situation not only in the east, but also in the territory of the entire state. It should be noted that the comparative strength of the army of the southeast of Ukraine and the national armed forces showed superiority of the latter. In addition, the southeastern troops consist, as a rule, of ordinary rebels who do not know the art of warfare. In turn, the army of Ukraine is a professional formation, in which there are trained and competent personnel. Thus, a comparative analysis of the armies of Ukraine and Novorossia, as it is customarily called, proves the fact that the paramilitary formations of the south of Ukraine are known to be losing ground.

The army of Ukraine in the world

If we analyze the situation of the armed forces of Ukraine in the world, then it is quite unenviable. After all, as the author has already indicated, the army of Ukraine occupies the 21st place among other troops. In relation to neighboring states, Ukrainian troops lose not only Russian, but also Belarusian, Polish, Turkish, etc. Nevertheless, the combat readiness and strength of the army of Russia and Ukraine are constantly controversial. As mentioned earlier, the main criterion is the financing of troops and technical support. As for the last element, many of the equipment used today is obsolete, and no one allocates money for the new one.

So, the article tells about what the army of Ukraine is, its strength, structure is also described, comparative characteristics of the military sector of the state are given. In conclusion, it should be noted that this direction still needs to be reformed in connection with the emergence of a large number of military conflicts in the 21st century.