Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine[b] (abbreviated as AFU)[c] are the military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the President of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rada parliamentary commission. They trace their lineage to 1917, while the modern armed forces were formed after Ukrainian independence in 1991. As of 2024, it is the sixth largest and one of the best-funded armed forces in the world.[9] The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleet in the world.[10] The Ukrainian Armed Forces is one of the most battle-hardened armed forces in the world.[11]
Ukrainian Armed Forces
29 March 1917
6 December 1991[1]
Ministry of Defence Building, Povitrianykh Syl Avenue, Kyiv
18[5]
12–18 months (depending on branches)
1,250,000+ (2024)[6]
2,500,000 (2024)[7]
$64,8 billion ₴ 2,4 trillion (2024)[8] foreign military aid
37% (2024)[8]
United States
United Kingdom
Bulgaria
Canada
Denmark
Romania
Australia
New Zealand
Poland
Germany
France 
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Czech Republic
Italy
Finland
Sweden
Spain
Israel
Turkey
NATO
European Union
South Korea
Republic of China (Taiwan)[a]
Japan
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
- Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present)
- War in Donbas (2014–2022)
- Battle of Artemivsk
- Siege of Sloviansk
- Battle of Kramatorsk
- Battle of Mariupol
- Battles of Sievierodonetsk
- Battle of Karlivka
- 1st Battle of Donetsk Airport
- Siege of the Luhansk Border Base
- Battle of Krasnyi Lyman
- Zelenopillia rocket attack
- Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion
- Battle of Horlivka
- Battle of Ilovaisk
- Battle of Novoazovsk
- Mariupol offensive
- 2nd Battle of Donetsk Airport
- Battle of Debaltseve
- Shyrokyne standoff
- Battle of Marinka
- Battle of Svitlodarsk
- Battle of Avdiivka
- Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)
- War in Donbas (2014–2022)
Ukraine's armed forces are composed of the Ground Forces, the Air Force, the Navy, the Air Assault Forces, the Marine Corps, the Special Operations Forces, and the Territorial Defense Forces.[12] Ukraine's navy includes its own Naval Aviation. The Sea Guard is the coast guard service of Ukraine, and it is organized as part of the Border Guard Service, not subordinate to the navy. The National Guard serves as a paramilitary reserve component of the Armed Forces.
Military units of other countries have participated regularly in multinational military exercises in Ukraine.[13] Many of these exercises have been held under the NATO cooperation program Partnership for Peace. As of 2024, with over $400 billion in foreign military aid in addition to being one of the best-funded armed forces in the world, the Soviet era military equipments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fast being replaced with vast amounts of NATO standard military equipments.[14]
Although not components of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, these militarized institutions are supposed to come under the Armed Forces' command during wartime. Such was the case in the 2022 Russian invasion, as these organizations, as stated below, were thus affiliated under Armed Forces command.
(20)
Mali
These are the military holidays observed by all service personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[172]
Veterans[edit]
Ukraine provides combat veterans with a range of benefits. Ukrainians who served in World War II, the Soviet–Afghan War, or as liquidators at the Chernobyl disaster are eligible for benefits such as monthly allowances, discounts on medical and pharmacy services, free use of public transportation, additional vacation days from work, retention priority in work layoffs, easier access to loans and associated approval processes, preference when applying for security related positions, priority when applying to vocational schools or trade schools, and electricity, gas, and housing subsidies. Veterans are also eligible to stay at military sanatoriums, space permitting. Since gaining independence, Ukraine has deployed troops to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, gaining a new generation of veterans separate from those who have served in the Soviet forces. Most recently, the government passed a law extending veteran benefits to Ukrainian troops responding to the war in Donbas. Moreover, veterans from other nations who move to or reside in Ukraine may be eligible for some of the listed benefits, this provision was likely made to ensure World War II, Chernobyl, and Afghanistan veterans from other Soviet states who moved to Ukraine received similar benefits, however as Ukraine has participated in numerous NATO-led conflicts since its independence, it is unclear if NATO veterans would be extended these benefits.[183]
Veteran groups are not as developed as in the United States, which has numerous well known national organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars. World War II veterans, and even persons who have lived through the war are generally treated with the highest respect. Other veterans are not as well known. Ukrainian veterans from the Soviet–Afghan War are strikingly similar to the Vietnam War veterans of the United States. The Soviet Union generally kept the public in the dark through the war, and it has often been labeled as a mistake by the Soviet Union and its successor states. The lack of media coverage and censorship through the war also ensured that many still remain unaware of their nation's involvement in the conflict.[184] Despite Ukraine having the third-largest contingent of troops in Iraq in 2004, few also realize that their nation has many veterans of the Iraq War.
Due to the ongoing conflict with Russia, another generation of veterans has appeared in Ukraine. These veterans would be eligible for the same benefits as all others. However, as there was no official declaration of war, it was difficult to determine the cut-off date for veteran benefits, leaving many that participated at the beginning of the conflict without benefits. At first, Ukraine only gave benefits posthumously to family members, as there was no legal framework to account for the veterans, moreover, members of territorial defense battalions were not eligible for benefits at all. In August, a law was passed granting all service members participating in the war in Donbas the status of veterans, five months after first hostilities broke out in Crimea, the territorial defense battalions were integrated into the National Guard making them part of Ukraine's forces, thus allowing their volunteers to receive veteran status.[185][186]
Veterans of the war in Donbas are eligible for receiving apartments (if staying in active duty) or a land plot for building purposes of 1,000 sq. metres in the district of their registration.
On 22 November 2018, the Ministry for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine was officially established.[187]