Assault troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Modern servicemen of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the legacy of millions of soldiers who served in the past, from the formation of the Ukrainian Cossacks to the beginning of Russia's armed aggression in the Donbas. The paratroopers constantly demonstrate their character, devotion and competence to defend the country in difficult conditions. In today's volatile environment, Assault Troops must remain ready to respond to calls for national security anywhere, anytime, with almost no preparation. Therefore, constant readiness to quickly move to any direction and conduct hostilities is the top priority.

Ukraine continues to purposefully develop the capabilities of the troops, but the main thing in the training remains the commitment - never to endanger a soldier if he has not been fully trained, not properly provided, and most importantly, not fully planned to use the compound, military unit or unit. This is the moral rule. In general, the fundamental task of a modern paratrooper today is the same as a soldier in the past - victory. This is a challenge that DSS must always be ready to meet today and tomorrow.

Airborne assault troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - a separate type of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, characterized by high maneuverability and autonomy of action, designed for rapid deployment to cover (defend) certain areas (areas), offensive (assault) operations, and air enemy coverage , fighting in his rear.

Conducting operations (combat operations) by airborne assault troops will expand the area of hostilities from the front line to the rear, sow panic and paralyze the enemy and his will to resist, disorganize his command and control of troops and weapons, rear work and thus create favorable conditions for victory even over the overwhelming forces of the enemy.

The combat composition of the Assault Troops by functional purpose (objectives, tasks and functions, staffing, equipment) belongs to the forces of immediate response of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Organizationally , the DShV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine includes command of the DShV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as a body of military management that performs the functions of generating, planning the use and management of troops; and combat units, military units of combat and logistics.

According to the functional purpose of combat units, military units of the Assault Troops are divided into airborne assault and airborne components.

• Airborne assault component - airborne assault and airmobile units, military units, units that are designed to conduct airborne assault operations.
• Airborne component - paratroopers, airborne assault units, military units, formations and airborne military units, which are designed for combat, combat operations of different composition and nature of the tasks performed by airborne troops.

As part of the airborne and airborne assault brigades , it is possible to single out the assault component , which is characterized by a combination of high tactical mobility and increased (compared to line units) fire capabilities. The assault component consists of tactical groups created on the basis of assault, parachute battalions (companies), reinforced by tank, artillery, anti-aircraft (anti-aircraft artillery) units, as well as units of combat support and logistics. It is most expedient to use these tactical groups to overcome fortified areas, enemy strongholds, destruction (decommissioning) of its important objects, which have sufficient fortification equipment and a developed system of protection and defense.

The “capital” of the Assault Troops is considered to be the city of Zhytomyr, where the Command of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a separate assault brigade, the Training Center, the all-military range of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other support units are located. One of the streets of Zhytomyr is called Heroes of the Paratroopers. According to the Decree of the President of Ukraine #380 / 2017 of November 21, 2017, the Day of Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been established in Ukraine.

Airborne troops of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were created after the declaration of independence of Ukraine on the basis of units and formations of the Airborne Forces of the USSR, which were stationed in the country. Units and military units became part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine gradually, in the period from January 1, 1992 to early summer 1993. In 1999, the President of Ukraine approved the date of the Airmobile Troops Day - August 2.

Since 1992, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been participating in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the United Nations, NATO and other international organizations. Accordingly, Ukrainian paratroopers have repeatedly been involved in peacekeeping and security in various hotspots around the world, including Yugoslavia, Iraq, Sierra Leone, the Mission in Kosovo, Liberia and others. On July 27, 2012, an order was signed to give the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the name "Highly Mobile Airborne Troops".

With the beginning of the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and later Russia's armed aggression in the Donbas, the military units of the Ukrainian landing party proved to be one of the most capable in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The level of training, staffing and fighting spirit was one of the highest among other military units and units of the Ukrainian army in 2014.

It was the landing units that became the nucleus that ensured the existence of the Ukrainian state. All the most difficult tasks were performed by paratroopers and airborne battalions of brigades in the hottest areas. Paratroopers together with dowry units took part in the largest-scale combat operations: battles for Slovyansk, Stepanovna, Semenik, Savur-Mohyla, Shakhtarsk, Nyzhnia Krynka, Debaltseve, Zelenopillya, Avdiivka, Mariupol, Kryoske, Telshaznek, Telhiansk, Telmanov, Yasynuvata, Pisky, Donetsk and Luhansk airports, Butivka mine and many others. Hundreds of settlements in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts were liberated.

In 2015, the Airborne Brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were reinforced by tank units, thus becoming an assault force. Each of the brigades received a tank company. T-80 tanks were selected to increase firepower and strike force. Thanks to the gas turbine engine, they have an advantage in speed and maneuverability compared to the T-64.

Since 2017, a significant step forward has been made. In particular, training with each brigade began in succession at several training grounds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in different regions of the country. Thus, the peculiarity of conducting brigade tactical exercises with combat firing and landing was that it allowed increasing the range of tasks set before military units and units, increase their complexity (as close as possible to combat conditions) and most importantly - to conduct training in one place their implementation (as used in previous years), and apply a comprehensive method and conduct stages of landing and combat firing, covering 5-6 ranges and individual areas.

Also, the command of the DShV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine introduced the practice of conducting two brigade tactical exercises at the same time. During the exercises, in addition to improving the coherence and field training of management, units, military units are working on issues:

• long-distance travel by rail, rail and air;
• landing of personnel, armament of military equipment and cargo in various ways, including landing in unfamiliar terrain;
• overcoming water obstacles both during the day and at night, both by swimming and with the help of operational support units;
• organization of interaction with units of other types of troops, in particular with units of the Air Force and Aviation of the JI of the Armed Forces of Ukraine not only during landing, but also during air support during combat missions;
• the use of non-standard techniques and methods of combat operations, in particular the performance of fire tasks by jet artillery units from the ferry and shooting at naval targets.

Armored vehicles : armored personnel carriers, BTR-80 are in service in airborne assault, airborne and airmobile brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; BTR-3DA, BMD-1 combat vehicles; BMD-2; BMP-1; BMP-2; T-80BV tanks, Kozak-2M1 armored vehicle, KrAZ Spartan, other weapons.

Artillery armament : self-propelled howitzers 2C1 "Gvozdika", 2C3 "Acacia", self-propelled cannon 2C1 "Nona", self-propelled gun 2C9 "Nona", trailed howitzer D-30, mortar 2B-14 "Tray", automatic mortar 2 B9 "Cornflower", 120-mm mortar 2B11, anti-tank missile systems "Stugna-P", "Fagot", "Competition" and "Assault-C", mobile control points and more machinery.

Weapons of air defense : the air defense units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have anti-aircraft missile systems "Arrow-10", portable anti-aircraft missile systems "Needle", anti-aircraft artillery ZU 23-2, radar stations and mobile control points, etc.

Along with the parachute landing of personnel from the aircraft of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, much attention is paid to the preparation of servicemen for parachute landing and evacuation with the help of KZBO "ADAPTER-M1", "KANAT-1"; new conditions of parachuting of cargoes were tested, - the minimum admissible height - 50 meters is established; initiated changes in the onboard equipment of military transport aircraft, which will allow to land equipment and cargo from extremely low altitudes - 5 meters.

In addition, DShV personnel study and practically implement the use of Airborne Systems parachute systems. These systems have a nomenclature code in accordance with NATO standards, are in service with the US Armed Forces, leading countries in Europe and the Middle East, allow accurate delivery to the battlefield and rear of enemy personnel and cargo without crossing the area of enemy air defense systems.

Training of officers of the operational and tactical level is carried out at the National University of Defense of Ukraine named after Ivan Chernyakhovsky. Training of officers of the tactical level is carried out at the Faculty of Training Specialists of the Assault Troops of the Military Academy of Odessa. Training in other specialties for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (commanders of artillery, engineering, communications, medical, reconnaissance and other units) is carried out in universities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Training of sergeants and privates is carried out on the basis of 199 Training Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other training centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in relevant specialties for the needs of combat units and units of military units.

It should be noted that a separate area of modern assault troops is the specific role of the paratrooper sergeant. It is based on the specifics of the application and the range of the functionality. For example, when performing a combat task in the enemy's rear, there is a high probability that the sergeant will become the chief military commander for a group of soldiers and even a certain unit. He will not always be able to consult, contact, clarify something with the officer. Therefore, the role of sergeants in airborne units is extremely important. It is the ability to maintain such autonomy that is emphasized in the process of their preparation.

One of the areas of international military cooperation with the participation of DSh units is the maintenance of peace and security, the fight against terrorism under the auspices of leading international organizations. Ukraine is constantly working to increase the capacity of the national component to act as part of the joint Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade named after Grand Hetman Konstantin Ostrozky (LITPOLUKRBRIG) under the guidance of instructors of the Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine (JMTG-UIT) and instructors.

Regarding the improvement of the military education and training system, measures are being taken to:

• implementation of NATO standards for individual training and professionalization of DSh personnel (foreign instructors of ORBITAL, UNIFAER and JMTG-U training missions);
• training according to NATO standards under the guidance of JMTG-U instructors (participation in Multinational Tactical Training competitions);
• training of qualified personnel capable of assessing the level of training (training) of military units (units) of the DShV in accordance with NATO standards and criteria (within the framework of the CREVAL Verification and Feedback Program).

At present, some experience of operational and combat training in the field of application of Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been accumulated. At the same time, the continuous development of the means of armed struggle, the growth of the combat capabilities of their troops and the probable enemy will continue to influence the methods of action of the troops, including the use of DShV. This requires a constant search for new solutions to the use of DShV in operations, as a powerful means of action in the operational, and under certain conditions, in the strategic depth of the enemy.

On November 21, 2017, on the Day of Archangel Michael, a solemn ceremony was held on St. Michael's Square in Kyiv, during which the President of Ukraine and the top military leadership presented new symbols: a ceremony was held to replace the blue beret with a maroon beret along with a new beret sign; The standard of the commander of the Assault Troops was presented; he flag of a separate type of troops was awarded; The text of the paratrooper's oath was established.