Editing Paratrooper (section)

===Russia===
{{Main|Russian Airborne Forces}}
[[Image:Russian paratroopers 106th VDD.JPG|thumb|left|Russian paratroopers]]

[[Soviet Airborne Forces]] were first formed in the [[USSR|Soviet Union]] during the mid-1930s and were the first regular paratrooper units in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-11 |title=The First Sky Soldiers – Meet History's Earliest Airborne Units |url=https://militaryhistorynow.com/2013/03/11/sky-soldiers-historys-first-airborne-operations/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=MilitaryHistoryNow.com |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2024|reason=Self-published text with no indication of author, peer-review, or reference material.}} They were massively expanded during [[World War II]], forming ten Airborne Corps plus numerous Independent Airborne Brigades, with most or all achieving [[Russian Guards|Guards]] status. The 9th Guards Army was eventually formed with three Guards Rifle Corps (37,38,39) of Airborne divisions. One of the new units was the [[Soviet 100th Guards Rifle Division|100th Airborne Division]]. At the end of the war they were reconstituted as Guards Rifle Divisions. They were later rebuilt during the [[Cold War]], eventually forming seven Airborne Divisions, an Independent Airborne regiment and sixteen Air Assault Brigades. These divisions were formed into their own VDV commands (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska) to give the Soviets a rapid strike force to spearhead strategic military operations.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a reduction in airborne divisions. Three [[Russian Airborne Troops|VDV]] divisions have been disbanded, as well as one brigade and a brigade-sized training centre. Nevertheless, Russian Airborne Troops are still the largest in the world.

VDV troops participated in the rapid deployment of Russian forces in and around [[Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari|Pristina Airport]] during the [[Kosovo War]]. They were also deployed in [[Chechnya]] as an active bridgehead for other forces to follow.