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Ukraine – Military Flags

Last modified: 2023-03-18 by martin karner
Keywords: ukraine | trident |
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See also:

Other sites:

  • Projects of Military Flags [retrieved, in Ukrainian]
    Viktor Karpov: Boyovyi prapor suchasnoyi Ukrayinskoyi armiyi [The battle flag of contemporary Ukrainian Army], in Viyskovo-istorychnyi almanakh. – Kyiv, 2001, No.1 (2), p. 110–121.

Armed Forces of Ukraine

image by Eugene Ipavec, 29 April 2008

image by Eugene Ipavec, 29 April 2008
emblem

The Armed Forces of Ukraine flag was established by Presidential Decree No. 705 of September 3, 2009.
Source: http://www.mil.gov.ua/ministry/simvolika-ta-nagorodi/
Esteban Rivera, 4 July 2014

I visited the Museum of Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kiev in January 2008 and took photos of flags and bought some Ukrainian flags books issued in 2007.
This image is the Colors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ["prapor oborozhenih sil Ukrayine"].
Nozomi Kariyasu and Eugene Ipavec, 21 March and 29 April 2008


Land Forces Flag

image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2008

image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2008
emblem

Land Forces flag (Ukrainian Ground Forces, in Ukrainian: Сухопутні Війська ЗСУ, Sukhoputni Viys’ka ZSU) also established by Decree No. 705 of September 3, 2009.
Source: http://www.mil.gov.ua/ministry/simvolika-ta-nagorodi/
Official website within the Ministry of Defence.
The Land Forces Commander flag is actually a gonfalon as seen here also established by this same Decree, Decree No. 705 of September 3, 2009.
Esteban Rivera, 4 July 2014

I visited Museum of Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kiev in January 2008 and took photos of flags and bought some Ukrainian flags books issued in 2007.
This image is based on those.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 21 March 2008

Previous Flag (?)


from www.dod.niss.gov.ua [picture not retrievable] located by Michael Simakov, 15 June 1999

Ground Forces flag
Joseph McMillan, 8 August 1999

Land Forces 1990's project

image by Eugene Ipavec, 5 May 2008

I visited Museum of Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kiev in January 2008 and took photos of flags and bought some Ukrainian flags books issued in 2007.
This image is based on those.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 21 March 2008


Air Force Flag

image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2008

image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2008
emblem

Flag of Air Force  ("Viyskovo-povitryany syly" in Ukrainian). This flag was not adopted yet. But probably it will be adopted in nearest future.
Victor Lomantsov, 26 June 2002

I visited Museum of Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kiev  in January 2008 and took photos of flags and bought some Ukrainian flags books issued in 2007.
This image is based on those.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 21 March 2008

image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2008

Reminiscent of Soviet Air Force flag.
Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2008

Previous Flag


image from www.dod.niss.gov.ua [picture not retrievable] located by Michael Simakov, 15 June 1999


Air Defence Flag

image by Eugene Ipavec, 5 August 2008

Flag of Air Defence  ("Viyska protypovitryanoy oborony" in Ukrainian). This flag was not adopted yet. But probably it will be adopted in nearest future.
Victor Lomantsov, 26 June 2002

Ukraine seems to be following the Soviet practice (still maintained in Russia also, I believe), of dividing its air force into separate tactical and air defense service branches. Thus there is no single "Ukrainian Air Force".
Tom Gregg, 27 June 2002

Previous Flag (?)


fromwww.dod.niss.gov.ua [picture not retrievable] located by Michael Simakov 15 June 1999

This is the Flag of the Air Defence. Most ex-Soviet allies maintain four arms of services: Army, Air Force, Navy and Air Defence. On the site of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this appears clearly.  
Romain Darbellay, 7 August 1999

Air Defense Forces flag.
Joseph McMillan, 8 August 1999

The blue flag with three arrows is NOT the border guard flag, but the Air Defence Force flag [My translation using an Ukrainian-English dictionary]. This is a continuation of the Soviet practice of maintaining a separate air force and air defence force.
Miles Li, 8 August 1999


National Guard

[National Guard flag] Zoltan Horvath, 2 January 2015

The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; Ukrainian: Національна гвардія України, Natsionalna hvardiya Ukrayiny) — is the reserve component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that was revived in 2014 based on the Internal Troops of Ukraine. The Guard would then be reestablished on March 13, 2014 amidst rising tensions in Ukraine and its region caused by the military intervention in Crimea by Russia.

The National Guard was originally created on November 4, 1991 right after Ukraine gained its independence under a direct supervision of the Supreme Council of Ukraine. However it was controversially disbanded nine years later on January 11, 2000 as part of a 'cost-saving' exercise by the then President Leonid Kuchma. In 1995 - 2000 there existed both the National Guard of Ukraine and the Internal Troops of Ukraine.

The National Guard was recreated in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the National Guard of Ukraine" [Law number 4393] dated March 12, 2014, (the draft legislation being originally introduced to the Ukrainian parliament on March 11). A previous attempt by then President Yushchenko to bring back the National Guard during civil unrest in 2008 had been blocked in the Rada. It was finally re-established in March 2014 after the beginning of the Crimean crisis.

The NGU was originally created by the Law of Ukraine "On the National Guard of Ukraine " dated November 4, 1991 № 1775 -XII. Dissolved by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine " dated 11 January 2000. During its early existence, the National Guard was indirectly involved in the Transnistrian conflict during the Spring/Summer of 1992, helping to defend the border against a threatened spill-over of the conflict into Ukraine. Formations involved were the 3rd, 4th and 5th divisions NSU (equipment transferred from the 93rd Motorized Rifle Division was also used in this deployment). Afterwards, up until 1998, National Guard units backed up the border guards in anti-smuggling operations conducted on the border with Moldova and Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region.

The flag is the Coat of Arms on a blue horizontal flag, as seen here.
Esteban Rivera, 2 January 2015


Sixth Division (92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade)

[National Guard sixth division] image located by Bill Garrison, 10 September 2022

From https://www.timesofisrael.com, an unidentified military logo upon regular blue/yellow Ukraine national flag allegedly inside recaptured city of Kupiansk in eastern Ukraine; c. 10 Sept 2022.
Bill Garrison, 10 September 2022

I think the text states (with Google translations) – corrections welcome:
Flag states 1-й Механізованй Батальйон (1st Mechanized Battalion)
92 Окрема Механізована Бригада (of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade)
збережемо честь здобудемо сазбу (we will save our honor, we will gain glory)
Rob Raeside, 10 September 2022

From https://ukranews.com/en/news/881313-afu-raise-ukrainian-flag-over-kupyansk-city-council-kharkiv-regional-council:
This confirms the name of the unit with their flag. The central portrait in the flag is that of Ivan Sirko, who is the patron (honoree) of the unit by virtue of "DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE № 618 / 2019." The text on the flag is "We will save honor, we will gain glory" (Збережемо честь, здобудемо славу)
Zachary Harden, 13 September 2022

The Unit was originally the 6th Division of the National Guard of Ukraine (6-ту дивізію Національної гвардії України) . Hence, it belonged to the National Guard although it traces its roots as far back as 1919. It was renamed in 1999 (other sources mention 2000) as the 92nd Separate Mechanized Ropshin Brigade of the orders of the October Revolution and the Red Banner (92 окрема механізована Ропшинська орденів Жовтневої Революції та Червоного Прапора бригада) (the first time the 92 appears in its name). In a later reform in 2015, all Soviet-related titles were removed from the names of many military Units, and it was renamed simply 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade (92 окрема механізована бригада) adopting its current denomination as stated by Zachary Harden in 2019.
Sources: https://web.archive.org/web/20180830073935/https://www.depo.ua/ukr/war/2016/legendarni-chastini-zsu-92-a-mehanizovana-brigada-30082015124600,
https://web.archive.org/web/20210608201037/
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1173/2000/ed20001030#Text and
https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/

It is not clear when this Unit became part of the Land Forces but I suppose it was since 2000 when by Decree of the President of Ukraine dated October 30, 2000 No. 1173: 92nd Separate Mechanized Ropshin Brigade of the orders of the October Revolution and the Red Banner.

Notice that the current flag displays the emblem of the Ukraine Land Forces on the canton.
Esteban Rivera, 13 September 2022


Colour for Military Units


from www.uarmy.com.ua [picture not retrievable] located by Dov Gutterman, 25 June 2002

Colour for military units – The motto on the obverse side (right side on this image): "For Ukraine, for her liberty". Full name of military unit on the reverse side. This flag was not adopted yet. But probably it will be adopted in nearest future.
Victor Lomantsov, 26 June 2002

In the  "prototype" image above the reverse text reads literally "full name of military unit", supposedly to be replaced with appropriate name in real flags.
Željko Heimer and Victor Lomantsov, 1 July 2002


Special Operations Forces 73rd Naval Center SWAT

image located by Bill Garrison, 25 February 2022

Posted on eBay:
Caption: Army Ukraine Special Operations Forces 73rd Naval Center SWAT (c. 2022?)
Bill Garrison, 25 February 2022


Army Veterans

image located by Bill Garrison, 16 August 2022

Source:
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-382322111/stock-photo-uzhgorod

Caption:
Uzhgorod, Ukraine – August 24, 2020: Veterans of the Ukrainian army hold flags during the march of the defenders of Ukraine in honor of Independence Day.
Bill Garrison, 16 August 2022