The Ukrainian Air Defence Forces (UADF; Ukrainian: Війська протиповітряної оборони України, romanized: Vijśka protypovitrianoï oborony Ukraïny) were an anti-aircraft military service of Ukraine, active from 1992 to 2004.
They were established on the basis of the former Soviet 8th Air Defence Army, and the last commander of that army, Lieutenant General Mykhailo Lopatin, became the first commander of the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces.
The Ukrainian Air Force (Ukrainian: Повітряні сили Збройних сил України, romanized: Povitryani syly Zbroynykh syl Ukrayiny, lit. 'Air Forces of the Armed Forces [of] Ukraine', PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Force.
When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, many aircraft were left in Ukrainian territory. After Ukrainian independence in 1991, the air force suffered from chronic under-investment, leading to the bulk of its inventory becoming mothballed or otherwise inoperable. However its domestic defense industry Ukroboronprom and its Antonov subsidiary are able to maintain its older aircraft.