Collection AIRBORN

The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are always the first to fly to rescue and perform combat missions behind enemy lines.

They were established in 1992 after the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence. These forces were formed on the basis of detachments of the Soviet Airborne Troops stationed on the territory of Ukraine.

They are extremely tough boys so they are usually involved in the most difficult moments. The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are the most mobile troops and they fly for the missions as quick as a flash.

They concentrate forces so that opponents cannot use their reserves and fail to make an attack. They also occupy and guard sites of strategic importance.

In addition, the paratroopers help to fight terrorists; they took part in international peace and security operations in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Liberia.

The paratrooper colonel Maksym Myrhorodskyi, who has become the first complete holder of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, coordinated the defense of Donetsk Airport in October- November of 2014.

Paratroopers and infantry took part in raids from Slovyansk to Mariupol; they were engaged in hostilities with Russian forces and destroyed several artillery divisions that crossed the Ukrainian border.

In 2017, at a festive event on the Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko bestowed new military symbols to the command. Now the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are not wearing blue berets, but maroon ones (i.e. dark burgundy).