Archived scanned copy of the original document: Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On Military Formations”
Received: 30.05.2025
The Central State Archive of the Highest Authorities and Administration of Ukraine provided an official response to a request registered on May 30, 2025, in which it confirmed the existence and validity of two key normative acts that laid the legal foundation for the establishment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The first document is the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine No. 1431-XII dated August 24, 1991, “On Military Formations in Ukraine,” which contains a direct provision subordinating all military formations stationed on the territory of the republic to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
This act also included the decision to establish the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and to begin the formation of the Armed Forces as a national defense institution.
This means that on the very day of the declaration of independence, the legal process of transferring military jurisdiction from the USSR to Ukraine was initiated — a fact that is crucial for questions of legal succession, the command hierarchy, and the formation of a national defense doctrine.
The second document is the Law of Ukraine No. 1934-XII “On the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” dated December 6, 1991, and signed by the President of Ukraine.
The preamble to the law states that the defense of the country is the responsibility “of the entire people of Ukraine” — a formulation that indicates the Armed Forces were established on behalf of the people of Ukraine as the collective bearer of sovereignty.
This aligns with the provisions of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine from July 16, 1990, and the constitutional model of that period, in which the people of Ukraine, not individual citizens, were recognized as the source of power and subject of state continuity.
The archival certificate dated June 10, 2025, issued by the Deputy Director of the Archive, certifies the authenticity of both documents based on archival materials: fund 1, inventory 16, file 4630, sheets 8 and 24.
Such certification by the official archive carries legal weight, as it confirms both the content and the date of adoption of the documents — a crucial distinction between political declarations (such as the Act of Independence) and normative legal acts that create binding obligations and generate legal consequences.
Thus, the archival materials confirm that a legal and normative framework for the Armed Forces of Ukraine was already established prior to the December 1, 1991 referendum and before the new constitutional provisions officially came into effect.
This is important for analyzing the legitimacy of legal succession, the authority of command structures, the legal status of citizens as subjects of defense obligations, and for assessing the conformity of the current mobilization model with foundational legislative acts.
