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1 1 (June 23, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedtd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: June 23, 2021 Ukrainian Armed Forces In 2014, the Ukrainian military, which observers noted had been weakened by years of neglect and underfunding, faced Rus sia's occupation ofUkraine's Crimea region and invas ion of eas tern Ukraine. Since that time, the Ukrainian armed forces have made considerable improvements; they have undertaken efforts to adopt NATO standards and received significantNATOandU.S. assistance. Many of these reforms began out of the experience of defending against Russian aggression. Reforms range fromthe tactical to the strategic levels and include both political measures (e.g., increasing transparency, countering corruption, and ensuring civilian control over the military) and military reforms (e.g., modernizing equipment, reforming command and control, and increasing professionalization). Significant hurdles remain, however, and the reform process is complicated by Ukraine's Sovietlegacy, the continued Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine, and the threat of further Russian aggression. Members ofCongress have expres sed interest in understanding Ukraine's military capabilities to help guidepolicymakingto support Ukraine's defense ofits territorial integrity and its aspirations for eventual NATO membership. (For more, see, CRS Report R45008, Ukraine: Background, Conflict with Russia, and U.S. Policy,by Cory Welt.) Key Policy and Strategy Documents Multiple military and national security documents lay out Ukraine's military strategy, reforms, and defense policy. Ukraine's 2016 Strategic DefenseBulletin outlined priority reforms to achieve NATO standards, and its subsequent State Programfor the Development oftheArmedForces (2017-2020) outlined implementation steps. In 2018, Ukraine continued thereformprocess with the Law on National Security, which created a frameworkto coordinate and simplify Ukraine's defense planning and to implement civilian control over the military. Ukraine updatedits National Security Strategy and its Military Security Strategy in 2020 and 2021, respectively, laying out the country's security and defensepolicies and objectives. TheNational Security Strategy defines the main principles of Ukraine's national security, which include identifying Russia as a long-termthreat to its national security and developing closerrelations with theEuropean Union, NATO, and the United States. Ukraine's March 2021 Military Security Strategy replaced its 2015 Military Doctrine. Budget and Defense Industry The 2018 Law on National Security required that at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) be spenton security, with 3% of the total going to defense. Economic realities, however, often mean defense spending in realterms is lower (around 2.5% of GDP). Ukraine's 2021 defense budgetis 117.6 billion hryvnia($4.2billion), 127 million hryvnia ($4.6 million) less than2020's budget. Additionally, Ukraine's defense budget allocations are split between funds necessary to maintain the military and funds to supportits ambitious reformprogram. Ukraine inherited a sprawling defense industry fromthe Soviet Union, producing a wide range of products, including tanks and armored vehicles, aircraft, radars and electronics, missiles, and ships. Defense conglomerate Ukroboronpromoversees the defense industry, which comprises over 130 state-run companies. In recent years, Ukrainian officials have made reforming Ukroboronprom and increasing transparency key goals, including passing a new law, On Defense Procurement, in July 2020 to implement NATO standards in defense procurement. Despite some progress, significant challenges remain with regard to corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency andpolitical infighting, and low transparency. Command and Control Command and controlhas been a centralreformfocus. Ukraine now requires the defense minister to be a civilian, a key NATO requirement. Some observers see continued threats to civilian control of the military, as former general Andriy Taran replaced Andriy Zagorodnyuk, the first civilian and pro -reformdefense minister, in 2020. The military also has shifted towarda command system more in line with NATO standards. Currently, the military reports to the commander in chief of the armed forces. Under the commander in chief, reforms split responsibilities between the chief of the general staff, responsible for strategic and forceplanning, and the commander of the joint forces staff, responsible for operations. The shift toward NATO-style command and control is an ongoing process, as many officers appear to remain influenced by their Soviet and post-Soviet military training despite an increase in NATO training and educational opportunities. Figure 1. Ukrainian Military Command Structure Armny Air Force_ Navy fAir Assau1 Special Forces' operations Source: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. https ://c rs rept

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