OPINION: They Protect Our Sky - Ukraine’s Air Defense Forces Want a Special Day

Ukraine’s Air Defense Forces were created as a separate arm of Kyiv’s Armed Forces on Oct.1 1993 under a ministerial directive. Its full official title is the Department of Air Defense of the Ground Forces as part of the Main Directorate of the Ground Forces of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In 2008, Oct. 1 was established as the Day of the Air Defense Forces of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, in 2012, it was removed from the calendar by the Minister of Defense, since when repeated appeals to reinstate it have had no success.

Currently, there are ten or so on anti-aircraft missile regiments and the more than 50 units based on anti-aircraft missile and artillery divisions of mechanized, motorized infantry, and tank brigades that comprise Air Defense Forces of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; a total of more than 20,000 personnel.

In addition to the ground forces, similar air defense units serve with the Airborne Assault Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces, the Marine Corps of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the National Guard of Ukraine and other components of Ukraine's Defense Forces.

With the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the personnel of military and air defense units of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine defended Ukraine's airspace, destroying enemy planes, helicopters, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, and alongside other military personnel, continue to defend our land from Moscow’s forces.

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Assessments based on open-source material shows that, during the initial phases of the war between Russia and Ukraine, air defense units of the Ground Forces inflicted  significant losses on the enemy’s air forces, destroying: 34 fixed wing aircraft, 39 helicopters, and 1,446 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types.

During this period, more than 150 servicemen of the Air Defense Forces of the Ground Forces were received military awards, honors and distinctions from the President of Ukraine, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; many of which were, unfortunately, awarded posthumously.

In recognition of the courage and heroism of its personnel and their contribution to the restoration of Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity, Ukraine’s air defense units have initiated a petition, No. 22/232228-EP, which was submitted to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The petition requests the establishment of a Day of the Air Defense Forces to be celebrated every year on March 5, in honor of the serving and fallen soldiers, sergeants, and officers of the air defense units of Ukraine’s Land Forces, Airborne Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Marines of the Naval Forces, the National Guard, and others.

March 5, 2022, marked one of the first highly effective operational days for air defense units faced by the Russian onslaught. During those first few days, soldiers from the 72nd, 58th Separate Mechanized Brigades, the 1st Separate Mechanized Brigade, the 59th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the 1129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, the 95th Separate Mechanized Brigade, and the 137th Separate Mechanized Brigade destroyed five aircraft, five helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles of the operational and tactical level of the Russian forces.

Link to the petition: Petition to the President of Ukraine

 The author: Kostiantyn Horbachov, Colonel of the Air Defense Forces

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.