Today in Ukraine, the Armed Forces Day is celebrated

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the laws "On the Armed Forces of Ukraine" and "On the Defence of Ukraine" on December 6, 1991, and on the 13th of December, the Concept of Defence and Construction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which defined the main principles and directions for the development of the Ukrainian army.

Ukraine inherited from the USSR one of the most powerful military groups in Europe, equipped with nuclear weapons and relatively modern samples of weapons and military equipment. However, over more than 20 years of independence, the Ukrainian army was almost destroyed. For decades, there were mass reductions of career servicemen, some of whom left the service in despair, seeing no prospects in the army. In addition to internal factors, there were external ones: all this time, Ukraine had to overcome tremendous pressure from Moscow, which in every way hindered the creation of effective Armed Forces in our country.

The turning point in the history of the modern Ukrainian army was the events of 2013-2014: the Revolution of Dignity, the occupation of Crimea, and part of eastern Ukraine. Despite total ruin in the army, betrayals, losses, immense pressure, and the enemy’s insidiousness, Ukrainian military personnel managed to defend the independence of their Homeland and protect their own people from the aggressor. Currently, our army is strengthening its combat readiness, and Ukraine has announced its intentions to join NATO.

It is worth noting that for the third year in a row, Ukrainians are celebrating the Day of the Armed Forces amidst the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation.