| Unit Name: | Ukrainian Air Assault Forces |
| Native Name: | Ukrainian: Десантно-штурмові війська України |
| Country: | Ukraine |
| Type: | Rapid reaction force |
| Role: | Airborne forces Air assault infantry Peacekeeping |
| Size: | 35,000 [1] |
| Command Structure: | Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Garrison: | Zhytomyr |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Motto: | Завжди перші! (Always first!) |
| Patron: | Saint Michael[2] |
| Battles: | |
| Anniversaries: | Air Assault Forces Day (21 November)[4] |
| Commander1: | Brigadier General Ihor Skybiuk[5] |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Flag |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Garrison color |
| Identification Symbol 3 Label: | Shoulder sleeve insignia |
| Identification Symbol 4 Label: | Beret insignia |
| Colors Label: | Color of beret |
The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces (pronounced as /uk/, abbreviated as DShV or AAFU), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces[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. They are considered the elite of Ukraine's armed forces.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10]
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 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] 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". The color of the Ukrainian paratroopers was changed to maroon, 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]
See 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]
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.
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 | 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 |
| Composition of Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine[22] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Assault Forces General Command | A3771 | Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | Commander Maj. Gen. Maxim Myrhorodskyi | |
| 135th Headquarters Battalion[23] | A3771 | Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | Commander Lt. Col. Vadym Kinzerskyi | |
| VII Air Assault Corps | ||||
| 87th Headquarters Battalion[24] | ||||
| 25th Airborne Brigade | A1126 | Hvardiiske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast | Commander Colonel Yuriy Sodol | |
| 46th Airmobile Brigade | A4350 | Poltava, Poltava Oblast | Commander Col. Valeriy Skred | |
| 71st Jaeger Brigade | A4030 | Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast | ||
| 77th Airmobile Brigade | A4355 | Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast | ||
| 78th Assault Regiment "Herts" | A7788 | Commander Col. Vyacheslav Ponamarenko | ||
| | 79th Air Assault Brigade
| A0224
| Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast
| Commander Col. Oleksandr Lutsenko
|
| 80th Air Assault Brigade | A0284 | Lviv, Lviv Oblast | Commander Col. Emil Ishkulov | |
| | 81st Airmobile Brigade
| A2120
| Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast
| Col. Oleksandr Lykhman
|
| 82nd Air Assault Brigade | A2582 | Chernivtsi, Chernivtsi Oblast | Commander Lt. Col. Pavlo Rozlach | |
| 95th Air Assault Brigade | A0281
| Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | Commander Col. Oleg Apostol
| |
| 132nd Reconnaissance Battalion | А2298 | Ozerne, Zhytomyr Oblast | Commander Maj. Yuriy Hupalyuk | |
| 148th Separate Artillery Brigade | A3316 | Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | Commander Col. Maksym Lanovy | |
| 421st Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems (421 ОББпС) | in formation | |||
| Educational parts | ||||
199th Training and Education Center
| A2900
| Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast
| ||
| Support Units | ||||
| Commander's Office of Amphibious Support[25] | ||||
| 33rd Engineering Battalion | A4733 | |||
| 71st Center for Moral and Psychological Support | Commander Lt. Col. Serhii Shevchuk | |||
| 102nd Separate Storage Warehouse for Airborne Equipment | А3749 | Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | ||
| 124th Topographic Unit | A1977 | Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | ||
| 170th Separate Logistic Battalion | A4633 | Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr Oblast | ||
| 232nd Unified Support Base | A0310 | Vinnytsia, Vinnytsia Oblast | ||
| 25th Garrison of Airborne Assault Troops Officers | ||||
| 12th Center for the Protection of State Secrets | A4223 | |||
| 347th Information and Telecommunications Node | A0876 | Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast | ||
| Name | Rank | Period of command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitaly Raevsky | Major general | 1992–1998 | |
| Colonel | 1998–2005 | ||
| Colonel | 2005–2012 | ||
| Oleksandr Shvets | Colonel | 2012–2015 | |
| Mykhailo Zabrodskyi | Lieutenant general | March 2015[26] [27] – August 2019[28] | |
| Yevhen Moisiuk | Major general | August 2019 – 9 August 2021 | |
| Major general | 9 August 2021[29] – 11 February 2024 | ||
| Ihor Skybiuk | Brigadier general | 11 February 2024 – present |