Ukrainian People's Army
| Military History of Ukraine |
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 Kievan Rus'
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 Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
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 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
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 Zaporizhian Host
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.svg){kind=small} Austria-Hungary
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 Ukrainian People's Republic
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 Free Territory
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Carpatho-Ukraine
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Ukrainian National Government
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 Ukrainian SSR
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Ukraine
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The Ukrainian People's Army (Ukrainian: Армія Української Народної Республіки), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) were often quickly reorganized units of the former Russian Imperial Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army for a long period lacked a certain degree of uniformity, adequate leadership to keep discipline and morale. Unlike the Ukrainian Galician Army, the Ukrainian People's Army did not manage to evolve a solid organizational structure, and consisted mostly of volunteer units, not regulars.
When the Tsentralna Rada (Central Rada) came to power in Ukraine in spring of 1917, it was forced to promptly put together an army to defend Ukraine against the Bolsheviks. Nearly all units of the newly created army were detached from the Imperial Russian Army. On March 29, 1917 the first organization of military forum the Ukrainian Military Club was organized at the Kiev Military District on the initiative of Mykola Mikhnovsky. Also during 1917 there were three All-Ukrainian Military Congresses that elected their representatives to the Central Rada. After the first such congress that took place on May 18–21, 1917 in Kiev there was created the Ukrainian General Military Committee. The committee was placed in charge for creation and restructuring of the army. The head of the committee was elected the future first General Secretary of Military Affairs, Symon Petlyura. The next congress in spite of a ban placed by the Russian Provisional Government took place on June 18–23, 1917 in Kiev. At the congress was read the 1st "Universal" of the Central Rada and the first elections to that institution took place. The last congress took place on November 2–12, 1917 and also in Kiev. Due to the civil unrest that was initiated by the Bolsheviks across the country also known as the October Revolution the congress took longer than its predecessors as it was interrupted for a few days in order to create the first Ukrainian Regiment for the Defense of Revolution (headed by Colonel Yuri Kapkan). The main requests of the congress were proclamation of the Ukrainian Democratic Republic, full Ukrainization of army and navy, and an immediate peace treaty.
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