The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has ordered the start of a military operation in Ukrainewhile his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelensky, has decreed the general mobilization of Ukrainian troops.
(Don’t miss: War in Ukraine: Ukrainian military plane crashes near Kiev)
(Due to the public interest in the events between Russia and Ukraine, all of our coverage of that invasion and related actions will be freely accessible to all readers of TIME.)
(Don’t stop reading: Ukraine claims that it recaptured city in Lugansk and killed 50 Russian soldiers)
But Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, the world’s second-largest military power, confronts two countries whose military potential does not admit comparison neither in number of troops nor in quantity and quality of weapons and war equipment.
Russia, which integrated into the Soviet Union consolidated itself since the end of the Second World War as the great military and nuclear power together with the United States, in 2008 undertook a modernization process that has raised its military capacity at the best time since the dissolution of the USSR, as indicated by the 2022 Military Balance of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear weapons in the 1990s after the disappearance of the USSR and its constitution as an independent country, has also improved its defensive forces in recent years, according to the ISSS study.
However, its weapons and equipment mostly come from the Soviet era, a legacy that also hampers its important defense industry.
The Ukrainian Army ranks 22nd among the most powerful armies in the index Global Fire Powera defense consultancy that compiles its index according to numerous variables that include military power, economy, logistical capacity or geography.
The difference between the annual budgets that the two countries allocate to defense gives an idea of the distance of their military power: Russia spends 154,000 million dollars and Ukraine invests 11,000 million, according to this consultancy.
The armies of the two countries
The number of troops available to the Russian Army is more than four times higher than that of Ukraine. Russia has nearly 900,000 active military personnel (280,000 from the Army, 150,000 from the Navy and 165,000 from the Air Force).to which must be added 130,000 belonging to airborne units and other strategic and special forces, and 180,000 command and support).
Ukraine has around 200,000 troops (125,000 from the ground, 15,000 from the Navy, 35,000 from the Air Force).20,000 in the airborne units and 1,000 in the forces for special operations). To these must be added 100,000 paramilitary and gendarmerie personnel and 900,000 reservists.
According to data from Global Fire Power Russia’s air force consists of 4,173 aircraft, compared to Ukraine’s 318. The number of Russian fighter jets is 772, and the Ukraine’s is 69.
Russian attack and support aircraft are 739 to 29 Ukrainian. The Russian army has 1,543 helicopters, of which 540 are combat helicopters. Ukraine 112 and 34, respectively. As for the ground forces, the Russian Armed Forces have 12,420 battle tanks compared to 2,596 for the Ukrainians.
The number of Russian armored vehicles is 30,122 and the Ukrainian 12,303. The Russian artillery has 6,574 self-propelled batteries and the Ukraine 1,067. The Russians add 3,391 missile launchers and the Ukrainians 490. In relation to the naval force, the difference is 605 ships to 38 in favor of Russia.
The Russian fleet is made up of one aircraft carrier, 70 submarines, 15 destroyers, 11 frigates, 86 corvettes, 59 patrol boats and 49 minesweepers. The Ukrainian Navy is limited to one frigate, one corvette, 13 patrol boats and one minesweeper.EFE
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