Ukrainian Air Assault Forces

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Short description

The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine (Template:Abbr. AAFU; Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Abbr. Template:Langx), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces,Template:Efn 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.[1] They are considered the elite of Ukraine's armed forces.[2]

History

<templatestyles src="Stack/styles.css"/>

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[1]

War in Donbas and beyond

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.[5]

In 2016, the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces became an independent branch of the Armed Forces. Previously, they were part of Ground Forces.[6]

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.[7] On 21 November 2018 he adjusted this to 487 killed.[8]

File:Міжнародні навчання «Saber Junction-2018» (84) (45085787282).jpg
Air Assault soldiers in 2018.

2017 reforms

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.[9][10] 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."[11] 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."[12]

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".[7] The color of the Ukrainian paratroopers was changed to maroon,[7] 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.[13]

Russian invasion

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Beginning Thursday, 24 February 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,[14] 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.[15]

Organization

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

In 2001 the Airmobile Force consisted of:[16]

Unit Base # Location Status
Headquarters 1st Airmobile Division А0220 Bolhrad inactive since 2003
25th Airborne Brigade А1126 Hvardiiske (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast)
45th Airmobile Brigade А1533 Bolhrad
27th Mechanized Brigade А0664 Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
91st Artillery Regiment А0242 Veselyi Kut
95th Airmobile Brigade А0281 Zhytomyr
79th Airmobile Regiment А0224 Mykolaiv
80th Airmobile Regiment А0284 Lviv
1st Airmobile Division
Separate Brigade
Separate Regiments
File:Ukrainian Airmobile Forces 2017.png
Ukrainian Air Assault Forces organization 2017

Current Structure

Script error: No such module "Location map/multi".

Composition of Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine[17]
File:НЗ КДШВ к.svg Air Assault Forces General Command A3771 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast Commander Maj. Gen. Maxim Myrhorodskyi
File:135th Separate Management Battalion.png 135th Headquarters Battalion[18] A3771 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast Commander Lt. Col. Vadym Kinzerskyi
File:7th Air Assault Corps.png VII Air Assault Corps
VIII Air Assault Corps
File:87th Management Battalion.png 87th Headquarters Battalion[19]
File:25 ОПДБр к.svg 25th Airborne Brigade A1126 Zarichne, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Commander Colonel Yuriy Sodol
File:46th Airmobile Brigade.svg 46th Airmobile Brigade A4350 Poltava, Poltava Oblast Commander Col. Valeriy Skred
File:71st Jaeger Brigade.svg 71st Jaeger Brigade A4030 Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast
File:77th Airmobile Brigade.svg 77th Airmobile Brigade "Naddnipryanska" A4355 Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
File:78th Air Assault Regiment SSI.svg 78th Assault Regiment "Herts" A7788 Commander Col. Vyacheslav Ponamarenko
File:79 ОДШБр к.svg

File:1st assault company Belarus.png
File:3 бат 79 ОАеМБр.png

79th Air Assault Brigade A0224
  • n/a
  • n/a
 Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast
  • n/a
  • n/a
 Commander Col. Oleksandr Lutsenko
  • Commander "Phoenix"
  • Commander Maj. Roman Kasyanchuk
File:80 ОДШБр к.svg 80th Air Assault Brigade A0284 Lviv, Lviv Oblast Commander Col. Emil Ishkulov
File:81 ОАеМБр к.svg

File:5th btg.png
File:90 ОАеМБ(н).png
File:122 ОАеМБ.png

81st Airmobile Brigade A2120
  • A1493
  • A0641
  • A4165
 Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast Col. Oleksandr Lykhman
  • Commander Lt. Col Oleg Chuyko
  • Commander Maj. Vladyslav Tsiba
  • Commander Maj. Oleksandr Lunyov
File:82nd Air Assault Brigade.svg 82nd Air Assault Brigade A2582 Chernivtsi, Chernivtsi Oblast Commander Lt. Col. Pavlo Rozlach
File:95 ОДШБр к.svg

File:13 ОАеМБ(н).png

95th Air Assault Brigade A0281
  • A1910
 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast Commander Col. Oleg Apostol
  • Commander Maj. Oleksandr Porhun
File:132 ОРБ к.svg 132nd Reconnaissance Battalion А2298 Ozerne, Zhytomyr Oblast Commander Maj. Yuriy Hupalyuk
File:148 ОГСАДн к.svg 148th Artillery Brigade A3316 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast Commander Col. Maksym Lanovy
File:421st Battalion of Unmanned Systems.png 421st Battalion of Unmanned Systems in formation
Educational parts[17]
File:199th Training and Education Center.svg 199th Training and Education Center
  • 37th Combined Military Training Ground
    • Airborne Training School (as part of 37th)
 A2900
  • A0339
 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast
Support Units[17]
File:НЗ ВДВ.svg Commander's Office of Amphibious Support[20]
File:33rd Engineering Battalion.png 33rd Engineering Battalion A4733
File:НЗ ВДВ.svg 71st Center for Moral and Psychological Support Commander Lt. Col. Serhii Shevchuk
File:НЗ ВДВ.svg 102nd Storage Warehouse for Airborne Equipment А3749 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast
File:124th Topographic Unit.png 124th Topographic Unit[17] A1977 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast
File:170th Separate Logistics Battalion SSI.svg 170th Logistic Battalion A4633 Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr Oblast
File:232nd Unified Support Base.png 232nd Unified Support Base A0310 Vinnytsia, Vinnytsia Oblast
File:НЗ ВДВ.svg 25th Garrison of Airborne Assault Troops Officers
File:НЗ ВДВ.svg 12th Center for the Protection of State Secrets A4223
File:347th Information and Telecommunications Node.png 347th Information and Telecommunications Node[17] A0876 Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast

Commanders

File:Vexillum of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.svg
The flag of Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief of the Air Assault Forces
Name Rank Period of command
Vitaly Raevsky Major general 1992–1998
Template:Ill Colonel 1998–2005
Template:Ill Colonel 2005–2012
Oleksandr Shvets Colonel 2012–2015
Mykhailo Zabrodskyi Lieutenant general March 2015[21][22] – August 2019[23]
Yevhen Moisiuk Major general August 2019[23] – 9 August 2021
Template:Ill Major general 9 August 2021[24] – 11 February 2024
Ihor Skybiuk Major general 11 February 2024[25] – 3 June 2025
Template:Ill Brigadier general 3 June 2025[26]

Armament

File:800 випускників факультету підготовки офіцерів запасу НУОУ склали Військову присягу 02.jpg
A BTR-4
File:Saxon at105.jpg
A AT-105 Saxon
File:Танкісти-десантники удосконалюють свої вміння 03.jpg
A T-80BV of the 95th Air Assault Brigade
File:KrAZ Spartan of Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, Rapid Trident 2016.jpg
A Ukrainian soldier with a KrAZ Spartan prepares to engage the opposition force during an air assault at Exercise Rapid Trident 16, July 2016

Personal firearms

  • PM, semi-automatic pistol (9×18mm)
  • Template:Ill
  • AKS-74,[27] 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)
  • Template:Ill – 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),[28] automatic grenade launcher – may be replaced in the future by a much lighter UAG-40.[29]

Armored vehicles

Artillery

  • M777 howitzer
  • 2S9 "Nona-S" configuration of 2S9 Nona, 120 mm self-propelled mortar[30]
  • 2S23 Nona-SVK
  • 2S1 Gvozdika
  • 2S3 Akatsiya
  • BM-21 Grad
  • ZU-23-2,[30] 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

Gallery

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 53. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 112. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  11. ↑ President: The Day of Airborne Forces will be celebrated on November 21 Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Presidential Administration of Ukraine (21 November 2017)
  12. ↑ Template:In lang President: Day of Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be celebrated on November 21 Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Presidential Administration of Ukraine (21 November 2017)
  13. ↑ Poroshenko enacts law on Ukraine's Air Assault Forces. UNIAN. Published 23 May 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ a b Ukraine's Major General Moisiuk appointed Commander of Airborne Assault Troops, UNIAN (21 August 2019)
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ S stands for skladnoy (Template:Langx), means folding. Issued only for parachute-landing purposes
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

External links

Script error: No such module "Side box".

Template:Military of Ukraine Template:Country topics Template:War in Donbas Script error: No such module "Authority control".

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Ukrainian_Air_Assault_Forces&oldid=5437068"