Ukraine Approves Its Own Army
The Ukrainian Parliament ratified two bills Tuesday to create a national armed force in the republic.
The bills authorize a force of 400,000 to 420,000, define national military structures and put the army under the control of the Ukrainian Parliament until the election of a president on Dec. 1. The creation of a national armed force was set out in Ukraine’s declaration of independence Aug. 24.
With a population of 52 million, the Ukraine is the Soviet Union’s second-most-populous republic. About 2,000 nuclear warheads, part of the Soviet arsenal, are within its territory.
The ratification took place despite a declaration Monday by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, as head of the Soviet armed forces, that he would “cancel” moves aimed at establishing national or private armies in the republics.
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