The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine ( AAFU; , , ), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, are the air assault infantry and airborne forces with armoured cavalry capabilities of Armed Forces of Ukraine.
After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Ukraine-based units from the Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV) were absorbed into the newly created Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU), where they remained until 2016, when they separated to become one of five military 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 assault and airborne operations, combined arms, counterinsurgency in the terrains they are trained on, drone warfare, maneuver warfare, military education and training related to air assault and airborne warfare, and peacekeeping. 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.
History
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.Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 53. Retrieved 25 January 2024. 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.Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 112. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
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.
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.
In 2016, the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces became an independent branch of the Armed Forces. Previously, they were part of Ukrainian Ground Forces.
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. On 21 November 2018 he adjusted this to 487 killed.
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. Day of paratroopers decided to move , Ukrayinska Pravda (8 November 2017) 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."President: The Day of Airborne Forces will be celebrated on November 21 , Presidential Administration of Ukraine (21 November 2017) 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." President: Day of Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be celebrated on November 21 , Presidential Administration of Ukraine (21 November 2017)
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.Poroshenko enacts law on Ukraine's Air Assault Forces. UNIAN. Published 23 May 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
On 6 November 2025 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy moved Ukraine's Air Assault Forces Day to 8 November because according to the Revised Julian calendar the feast day of its patron Saint Michael is celebrated on 8 November.
Russian invasion
Beginning Thursday, 24 February 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 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.
Losses As of February 20, 2024, the air assault forces suffered a total of 3,104 soldiers killed in action, according to publicly available information. This increased to at least 6,526 KIA as of July, 2025, with the 95th Air Assault Brigade suffering the most KIAs (with 1,319 killed).
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:
Unit Base # Location Status Headquarters 1st Airmobile Division А0220 BolhradInactive 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 DivisionSeparate BrigadeSeparate Regiments
Current structure
Composition of Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of UkraineAir Assault Forces General CommandA3771Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr OblastCommander Maj. Gen. Oleh Apostol135th Headquarters BattalionA3771Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr OblastCommander Lt. Col. Vadym KinzerskyiVII Air Assault CorpsVIII Air Assault Corps 87th Headquarters Battalion25th Airborne BrigadeA1126Zarichne, Dnipropetrovsk OblastCommander Colonel Yuriy Sodol46th Airmobile BrigadeA4350Poltava, Poltava OblastCommander Col. Valeriy Skred71st Jaeger BrigadeA4030Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast77th Airmobile Brigade "Naddnipryanska"A4355Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast78th Assault Regiment "Herts"A7788Commander Col. Vyacheslav Ponamarenko 79th Air Assault Brigade 1st Air Assault Company "Belarus" 3rd Assault Battalion "Phoenix"A0224 n/a n/aMykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast n/a n/a Commander Col. Oleksandr Lutsenko Commander "Phoenix" Commander Maj. Roman Kasyanchuk80th Air Assault BrigadeA0284Lviv, Lviv OblastCommander Col. Emil Ishkulov 81st Airmobile Brigade 5th Battalion Tactical Group 90th Airmobile Battalion 122nd Airmobile BattalionA2120 A1493 A0641 A4165Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast Terentiivka, Poltava Oblast Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast Druzhkivka, Donetsk OblastCol. Oleksandr Lykhman Commander Lt. Col Oleg Chuyko Commander Maj. Vladyslav Tsiba Commander Maj. Oleksandr Lunyov82nd Air Assault BrigadeA2582Chernivtsi, Chernivtsi OblastCommander Lt. Col. Pavlo Rozlach95th Air Assault Brigade 13th Airmobile Battalion A0281 A1910Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr OblastCommander Col. Oleg Apostol Commander Maj. Oleksandr Porhun132nd Reconnaissance BattalionА2298Ozerne, Zhytomyr OblastCommander Maj. Yuriy Hupalyuk148th Artillery BrigadeA3316Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr OblastCommander Col. Maksym Lanovy421st Battalion of Unmanned Systemsin formation Training units199th Training and Education Center 37th Combined Military Training Ground Airborne Training School (as part of 37th)A2900 A0339Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast Perlyavka, Zhytomyr Oblast Support unitsCommander's Office of Amphibious Support33rd Engineering BattalionA473371st Center for Moral and Psychological SupportCommander Lt. Col. Serhii Shevchuk102nd Storage Warehouse for Airborne EquipmentА3749Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast124th Topographic UnitA1977Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast170th Logistic BattalionA4633Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr Oblast232nd Unified Support BaseA0310Vinnytsia, Vinnytsia Oblast25th Garrison of Airborne Assault Troops Officers12th Center for the Protection of State SecretsA4223347th Information and Telecommunications NodeA0876Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast
Commanders
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 – August 2019Ukraine's Major General Moisiuk appointed Commander of Airborne Assault Troops, UNIAN (21 August 2019) Yevhen Moisiuk Major general August 2019 – 9 August 2021 Major general 9 August 2021 – 11 February 2024 Ihor Skybiuk Major general 11 February 2024 – 3 June 2025 Oleh Apostol Brigadier general 3 June 2025
Armament
Personal firearms PM, semi-automatic pistol (9×18mm)
AKS-74, 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-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), automatic grenade launcher – may be replaced in the future by a much lighter UAG-40.
Armored vehicles T-80 - principal main battle tank Challenger 2 main battle tank BMD-1 BMD-2 BMD-3 BTR-MDM BTR-D BTR-80 BTR-70 BTR-3 BTR-4 Stryker MT-LB GT-MU KrAZ "Spartan" HMMWV M1114 UAH AT105 Saxon Dozor-B Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle
Artillery M777 howitzer 2S9 "Nona-S" configuration of 2S9 Nona, 120 mm self-propelled mortar 2S23 Nona-SVK 2S1 Gvozdika 2S3 Akatsiya BM-21 Grad ZU-23-2, 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 KrAZ-6322 GAZ-66 Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
Gallery
See also Special forces of Ukraine Russian Airborne Forces
Notes
References
External links
Official site Ministry of Defence Military Forum