Ukrainian Air Assault Forces

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Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
Десантно-штурмові війська України
Emblem of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
Founded1992; 32 years ago (1992)
CountryUkraine
TypeRapid reaction force
RoleAirborne forces
Air assault infantry
Peacekeeping
Size35,000 (2024)[1]
Part ofArmed Forces of Ukraine
HeadquartersZhytomyr
PatronSaint Michael[2]
Motto(s)Завжди перші!
(Always first!)
Color of beret  Maroon
AnniversariesAir Assault Forces Day
(21 November)[3]
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Brigadier General Ihor Skybiuk[5]
Insignia
Flag
Garrison color
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Beret insignia

The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces (Ukrainian: Десантно-штурмові війська України, romanized: Desantno-shturmovi viiska Ukrainy, abbreviated as DShV[a] or AAFU), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces[b][6] are the airborne forces of Ukraine. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Ukraine-based units from the Soviet Airborne Forces were absorbed into the newly-created Ukrainian Ground Forces, where they remained until 2016, when they separated to become one of five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Air Assault Forces are in constant combat readiness. They are the high-mobility branch of the military, responsible for air assaults and military parachuting operations. Before the Russo-Ukrainian War they were also the main forces sent by Ukraine to peacekeeping missions around the world.[7] They are considered the elite of Ukraine's armed forces.[8]

History[edit]

A VDV soldier in 2011

The Ukrainian Airmobile Forces were created in 1992 as part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, from units of the Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV) stationed on Ukrainian territory after the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 25 December 1991.[9] Part of the Soviet 98th Guards Airborne Division became the basis for the Ukrainian 1st Airmobile Division, which became known as the most capable division in the Ukrainian ground forces during the 1990s.[10]

In the 15 years after their creation, Ukrainian paratroopers have served in peacekeeping missions to the Balkans, in Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, Georgia and DR Congo. In 2007, the 13th Separate Airmobile Battalion served as part of Polish–Ukrainian Peace Force Battalion, a peacekeeping unit with Kosovo Force.[7]

War in Donbas and beyond[edit]

In August 2014 the 95th Air Assault Brigade conducted a raid behind the separatist lines. The 95th Brigade, which had been reinforced with armor assets and attachments, launched a surprise attack on separatist lines, broke through into their rear areas, fought for 450 kilometers, and destroyed or captured numerous Russian tanks and artillery pieces before returning to Ukrainian lines and established a corridor in which the Ukrainian army units and civilians trapped at the border could retreat. It was one of the longest armored raids in military history.[11]

In 2016, the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces became an independent branch of the Armed Forces. Previously, they were part of Ground Forces.[12]

On 21 November 2017 (Ukraine's Paratroopers' Day) President Petro Poroshenko stated that 469 Ukrainian paratroopers had been killed in the (ongoing) Russo-Ukrainian War.[13] On 21 November 2018 he adjusted this to 487 killed.[14]

Air Assault soldiers in 2018.

2017 reforms[edit]

Air Assault Forces Day was celebrated on 2 August in Ukraine, as it was in the Soviet Union, until 2017, when it changed to 21 November 2017.[15][3] President Poroshenko said "It is logical to celebrate your professional holiday on November 21. The usual August 2 is the date of the first jump of paratroopers in the Moscow Military District. How is it about us? Moscow is not Kyiv. Ukraine is not Russia."[16] He added that "The start of the new Paratroop Day is part of the Ukrainianization of the historical and political calendar – the replacement of the Soviet-Russian imposed upon us."[17]

On 21 November 2017 the Air Assault Forces received its new insignia – the dome of a parachute "as a symbol of airborne units around the world" and the wings of Archangel Michael and "the flaming sword with which he hits the enemies".[13] The color of the Ukrainian paratroopers was changed to maroon,[13] and from 2017 the UkrAAF wear the maroon berets common to many Western airborne units.

On 23 May 2018, President Poroshenko signed legislation that renamed the Airmobile Forces as the Air Assault Forces.[18]

Russian invasion[edit]

Main article: Russian invasion of Ukraine

Beginning Thursday, 24 February 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,[19] the UkrAAF have been participants of some of the land combat actions of the current conflict, fighting alongside their brethen from the Ground Forces, Territorial Defense and the National Guard.

As of February 20, 2024, the air assault forces suffered a total of 3,104 soldiers killed in action, according to publicly available information.[20]

Organization[edit]

In 2014, the staffing of an airmobile brigade was brought up to 1,200 servicemen. Each brigade was given at least one artillery battalion from the 25th and 55th artillery brigades and a tank battalion. Currently, the total staffing of the brigades ranges from 1,000 to 2,200 personnel, depending on the deployment. Most of the brigades operate in 1-2 battalion tactical groups, in each of which, in addition to infantry battalions, there are up to two field artillery battalions and at least one tank company equipped with BTRs and BMP IFVs.

Organization 2001[edit]

In 2001 the Airmobile Force consisted of:[21]

Unit Base # Location Status
Headquarters 1st Airmobile Division А0220 Bolhrad inactive since 2003
25th Airborne Brigade А1126 Hvardiyske (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
45th Airmobile Brigade А1533 Bolhrad
27th Mechanized Brigade А0664 Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
91st Artillery Regiment А0242 Veseliy Kut
95th Airmobile Brigade А0281 Zhytomyr
79th Airmobile Regiment А0224 Mykolaiv
80th Airmobile Regiment А0284 Lviv
1st Airmobile Division
Separate Brigade
Separate Regiments

Organization 2017[edit]

Ukrainian Air Assault Forces organization 2017

Organization 2024[edit]

class=notpageimage|

Air Assault Forces brigades 2023
Airborne Air Assault Airmobile Jaeger

As of January 2024 the support forces of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are:

  • 71st Psychological Support Center, in Zhytomyr
  • 102nd Materiel Storage Unit, in Zhytomyr[23]
  • 124th Topographic Unit, in Zhytomyr
  • 33rd Combat Engineer Battalion
  • 170th Logistic Battalion
  • 199th Training and Education Center, in Zhytomyr[29]
  • 232nd Combined Supply Unit
  • 347th Signals Unit, in Zhytomyr

Commanders[edit]

The flag of Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief of the Air Assault Forces
Name Rank Period of command
Vitaly Raevsky Major general 1992–1998
Ivan Yakubets [uk] Colonel 1998–2005
Serhiy Lysovyi [uk] Colonel 2005–2012
Oleksandr Shvets Colonel 2012–2015
Mykhailo Zabrodskyi Lieutenant general March 2015[30][31] – August 2019[32]
Yevhen Moisiuk Major general August 2019[32] – 9 August 2021
Maksym Myrhorodskyy [uk] Major general 9 August 2021[33] – 11 February 2024
Ihor Skybiuk Brigadier general 11 February 2024[5] – present

Armament[edit]

A BTR-4
A AT-105 Saxon
A T-80BV of the 95th Air Assault Brigade
A Ukrainian soldier prepares to engage the opposition force during an air assault at Exercise Rapid Trident 16, July 2016

Personal firearms[edit]

  • PM, semi-automatic pistol (9×18mm)
  • Fort-14 [ru; uk]
  • AKS-74,[34] para assault rifle (AK-74 with folding skeleton buttstock) (5.45×39mm)
  • AKS-74U, short-barreled para assault rifle carbine with folding skeleton buttstock(5.45×39mm)
  • AKMS, para assault rifle with a downward-folding metal stock similar to that of the German MP40 (7.62×39mm)
  • AK-TK [ru] – AK-74 modernization
  • Fort-221 – TAR-21 licensed copy
  • RPKS-74, the light weight para machinegun (5.45×39mm)
  • PKM, general purpose machine gun (7.62×54mmR)
  • Dragunov SVDS sniper rifle (7.62×54mmR)
  • GP-25 and GP-30, the under-barrel 40 mm grenade launchers for fragmentation and gas grenades which are attached to AKS-74 of some paratroopers to increase firepower for combating enemy foot troops
  • AGS-17 "Plamya" (Flame),[35] automatic grenade launcher – may be replaced in the future by a much lighter UAG-40.[36]

Armored vehicles[edit]

Artillery[edit]

  • M777 howitzer
  • 2S9 "Nona-S" configuration of 2S9 Nona, 120 mm self-propelled mortar[37]
  • 2S23 Nona-SVK
  • 2S1 Gvozdika
  • 2S3 Akatsiya
  • BM-21 Grad
  • ZU-23-2,[37] an aged but effective and powerful design of a double barrel 23 mm anti-aircraft gun, commonly used against infantry and even APCs and IFVs, it is either mounted on any amphibious hulls, usually based on PT-76 light tank, or can be towed by jeep or truck as it has wheels.

Vehicles[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • A KRAZ Spartan
    A KRAZ Spartan
  • A MTLB
    A MTLB
  • Soldiers prepare for movement during Saber Junction-2018.
    Soldiers prepare for movement during Saber Junction-2018.
  • Soldiers during Saber Junction-2018
    Soldiers during Saber Junction-2018
  • VDV troops in a military parade in 2014, when they still wore sky-blue berets and telnyashka shirts like their Russian counterparts
    VDV troops in a military parade in 2014, when they still wore sky-blue berets and telnyashka shirts like their Russian counterparts
  • Flag of the Airmobile forces until 2017
    Flag of the Airmobile forces until 2017
  • Shoulder sleeve insignia until 2017
    Shoulder sleeve insignia until 2017
  • Former emblem
    Former emblem

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Ukrainian: ДШВ
  2. ^ Ukrainian: Високомобільні десантні війська України, romanized: Vysokomobilni desantni viiska Ukrainy, lit. 'High-mobility airborne forces of Ukraine', abbreviated as VDV (Ukrainian: ВДВ)

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Military Balance 2022. International Institute for Strategic Studies. February 2022. ISBN 978-1-00-062003-0.
  2. ^ (in Ukrainian) Instead of airborne troops in Ukraine there will be Airborne Assault Troops, BBC Ukrainian (21 November 2017)
  3. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Day of paratroopers decided to move Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (8 November 2017)
  4. ^ (in Ukrainian) Since the beginning of the conflict in the Donbas killed 415 Marines Archived 2016-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (2 August 2016)
  5. ^ a b "Zelensky appoints 4 new high-level military commanders". The Kyiv Independent. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Основні показники реформування Міністерства оборони та Збройних Сил у 2016 році". 2020-09-21. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  7. ^ a b "Ukrainian paratroopers celebrate 15th anniversary" (PDF). KFOR Chronicle. 31 August 2007. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Combat training of Ukrainian troopers: They aren't called Ukrainian Armed Forces' elite for nothing, - Poroshenko on Ukrainian commandoes. PHOTOS (16.08.18 16:54) « Incidents | Censor.NET". 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  9. ^ Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 53. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  10. ^ Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 112. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  11. ^ "21st Century Maneuver | Marine Corps Association". www.mca-marines.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  12. ^ "Основні показники реформування Міністерства оборони та Збройних Сил у 2016 році". www.ukrmilitary.com. 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  13. ^ a b c "Poroshenko: 469 Ukrainian paratroopers killed in Donbas amid war". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  14. ^ "Some 487 Ukrainian paratroopers killed in Donbas hostilities". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  15. ^ "Ukraine marks 25th Airmobile Forces anniversary". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  16. ^ President: The Day of Airborne Forces will be celebrated on November 21 Archived 2017-11-23 at the Wayback Machine, Presidential Administration of Ukraine (21 November 2017)
  17. ^ (in Ukrainian) President: Day of Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be celebrated on November 21 Archived 2017-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Presidential Administration of Ukraine (21 November 2017)
  18. ^ Poroshenko enacts law on Ukraine's Air Assault Forces. UNIAN. Published 23 May 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Conflict in Ukraine". Global Conflict Tracker. Council on Foreign Relations. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  20. ^ "UA Losses".
  21. ^ "№ 477-р від 3 грудня 2001 року "Про шефство Дніпропетров". Archived from the original on October 3, 2011.
  22. ^ Високомобільні десантні війська In: ukrminilitary.com
  23. ^ a b "Ukrainian Military Pages: Високомобільні десантні війська" [Airmobile Forces Structure]. www.ukrmilitary.com (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  24. ^ https://twitter.com/Militarylandnet/status/1751327304356118993
  25. ^ "Захисти своїх". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  26. ^ "46 окрема десантно-штурмова бригада ВДВ ЗС України запрошує на службу! Захисти своїх!". Archived from the original on 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  27. ^ "77th separate airmobile brigade". 21 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  28. ^ "199 навчальний центр".
  29. ^ Сергій Машковський привітав військовослужбовців 199 навчального центру ВДВ ЗСУ. [199th Training Center Airmobile Forces welcomed by Sergey Mashkovsky]. oda.zt.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  30. ^ "President conferred the rank of Brigadier General to commander of the Airborne Forces Mykhailo Zabrodskyi". Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. 2 August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  31. ^ "Mykhailo Zabrodskyi appointed as new chief of ATO forces". www.unian.info. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  32. ^ a b Ukraine's Major General Moisiuk appointed Commander of Airborne Assault Troops, UNIAN (21 August 2019)
  33. ^ "Maksym Myrhorodskyy appointed commander of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces". Militarnyy. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  34. ^ S stands for skladnoy (Russian: складной), means folding. Issued only for parachute-landing purposes
  35. ^ "MoD News Article". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011.
  36. ^ "Automatic grenade launcher UAG-40". www.lk.com.ua. Public Company Leninska Kuznya Plant. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  37. ^ a b "MoD News Article". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011.

External links[edit]

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