Europe > Ukraine > Military

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Armed forces personnel	304,000		[14th of 166]
Branches Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (Viyskovo-Povitryani Syly), Air Defense Forces
Conscription Conscription exists.
Conventional arms exports	$452,000,000.00		[6th of 40]
Conventional arms imports	$29,000,000.00		[52nd of 85]
expenditure > % of GDP	2.45 %		[30th of 145]
Expenditures > Dollar figure	$617,900,000.00		[16th of 111]
Forces in Europe > Aircraft	801		[3rd of 24]
Forces in Europe > Battle Tanks	3,784		[3rd of 24]
Forces in Europe > Helicopters	191		[5th of 22]
Iraq Coalition casualties	18		[4th of 18]
Manpower > Availability > Males age 15-49	12,236,800		[26th of 175]
Manpower > Military age	18 years of age
personnel	273,000		[22nd of 170]
personnel > % of total labor force	1.22 %		[66th of 168]
Service age and obligation 18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months for Army and Air Force, 24 months for Navy
Weapon holdings	9,520,000		[10th of 137]
WMD > Missile Ukraine inherited significant ICBM design and production capabilities from the Soviet Union. These included the Pivdenne (formerly Yuzhnoye) Design Bureau, responsible for the design of the SS-18 and the SS-24 ICBMs, and the Pivdenmash (formerly Yuzhmash) Machine-Building Plant, which produced a wide range of Soviet ICBMs, including the SS-18 and SS-24. Other former Soviet missile-industrial complex facilities in Ukraine include the Pavlohrad Chemical and Mechanical Plants, which were also involved in ICBM manufacture, and the Khartron Production Association, which produced guidance systems. These enterprises have since become involved in a variety of space projects, including converting SS-18 ICBMs to space launch vehicles (SLVs) in cooperation with Russian firms, participating in the international Sea Launch program, and cooperating with Russian enterprises on new SLV designs. In July of 2003, the Ukrainian National Space Agency sold 30 RS-18 ICBMs to Russia and simultaneously promised to destroy 55 Soviet-era missile silos. In March 2004, Ukraine joined the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC) which has been in effect since November 2002 and signed by over 100 countries.
WMD > Nuclear Upon the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a considerable nuclear potential, in the form of 176 SS-19 and SS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs; 1,240 warheads) and 44 strategic bombers. In addition, there were an unspecified number of tactical nuclear warheads on its territory. However, in spite of some domestic opposition, Ukraine gradually rid itself of its nuclear weapon inheritance by transferring both tactical and strategic warheads to Russia (the last warheads were transferred by June 1996 in return for Russian compensation in the form of fuel for Ukraine’s nuclear power reactors) and eliminating missiles, missile silos, and strategic bombers on its territory. Ukraine also acceded to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) and joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as non-nuclear weapon state. By January 2002, all strategic bombers on Ukraine’s territory had been either dismantled, transferred to Russia, or converted to non-military use; all ICBMs had been extracted from the silos and either eliminated or disassembled pending elimination; and all ICBM silos had been eliminated.
WMD > Overview Ukraine inherited a considerable number of nuclear warheads, missiles, and missile production facilities when the Soviet Union collapsed. In its first decade of independence, Ukraine transferred all nuclear warheads to Russia and eliminated missiles, missile silos, and strategic bombers on its territory. All chemical weapons were returned to Russia for elimination by January 1992. Ukraine possesses no biological weapons and is cooperating with the United States on measures to upgrade security at biological institutes that house dangerous microbes.

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