The creation of the armed forces of independent Ukraine: military and political background

Abstract

The article studies the stages of creating the national army in Ukraine before the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and during the first years of existence of the independent state of Ukraine. The civil society in Ukraine raised the issue of the formation of the national army driven by the sovereignty aspirations and the demands to do military service exclusively on the Ukrainian territory without involving in the Soviet Union conflicts. The military-political circumstances and their influence on the creation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been analysed. Certain similarities between the ways of creation of armed forces in the Baltic States and Ukraine, in particular the role of socio-political movements in this process have been studied. The authors have compared the main principles of the formation of armed forces in Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania and disclosed the relation between the principles of their foundation and further territorial integrity.