As the Russian military invaded the border in the early hours of Thursday morning, questions were raised about whether Ukraine could resist.
President Vladimir Putin has the fifth largest active army in the world, surpassing the one currently mobilizing to defend Ukraine.
Moscow’s 900,000 active military personnel mean that its forces are only smaller than those commanded by China, IndiaThe United States and North Korea.
But Russia’s per capita defense spending is less than that of Britain, China and the United States, and the Kremlin’s forces do not have the same cutting-edge technology, with much of its hardware dating back to the Soviet era.
However, in terms of manpower and weapons, arithmetic seems bleak for Ukraine. Its 196,600 personnel put its military in 22nd place, but neighbors divide not only the number of active troops.
Ukrainian tanks head to Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, after Putin declared war in the early hours of Thursday
Ukrainian soldiers ride in a military vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, February 24, 2022.
A tank of Ukrainian forces is moving after the military operation of Russia on February 24, 2022 in the city of Chukhuyev, Kharkiv region, Ukraine
The attack has reached Ukraine on all fronts, with bombs and missiles hitting targets across the country, ground forces targeting Belarus, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, and paratroopers throwing over Kharkiv
Most estimates by military experts show that the number of Russian troops near Russia’s border with Ukraine in the days before the invasion was over 150,000.
Russia has also moved some of its troops to Belarus, north of Ukraine, for military exercises.
The Russian army has about 280,000 personnel and its combined armed forces about 900,000, while its 13,367 tanks outnumber Ukrainian ones by more than six to one, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
IISS also reports that Russia has 5,934 artillery units compared to 1962 in Ukraine and 19,783 armored military vehicles compared to 2,870 in Ukraine.
The institute, which tracks the military capabilities of nations around the world, also demonstrates Russia’s dominance at sea and in the air.
According to their data, the Russian Air Force has 165,000 personnel, 1,328 attack planes and at least 478 helicopters. Meanwhile, Ukraine has 35,000 air forces, 146 attack planes and 42 attack helicopters.
The discrepancies in the Russian and Ukrainian navies paint a similar picture.
Russia has 150,000 naval personnel compared to 15,000 in Ukraine.
Putin’s 74 warships and 51 submarines mean that Russia has managed to block Ukraine’s routes to the sea. Ukraine has only two warships and no submarines.
But while Russia easily outperforms Ukraine, some of its technologies are not as advanced as those used by Western countries.
A number of vehicles that were spotted massing in eastern Ukraine before the full invasion were ordered were from the Soviet era, although it is unlikely that such hardware will be used in the forefront as Russia enters the country.
But while much of Russia’s hardware is older than the equivalents used by NATO countries, it also requires less oversight and therefore fewer people to manage it.
Pictured: A cloud of dust rises from the site of an explosion in Kiev as Russia launches its attack
A huge explosion is observed at the Vinnytsia military base in central Ukraine as the country comes under widespread attack from Russia.
An employee works at the gun counter in a tactical equipment store on February 23 in Kiev
Ukrainian firefighters are trying to put out the fire after an air strike hit a residential complex in Chukhuyev, Kharkiv region, Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
People take part in a shooting training course at a shooting range outside Lviv on February 22, 2022.
A boy plays with a weapon while an instructor shows a Kalashnikov assault rifle while training members of a Ukrainian far-right group in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, February 20, 2022.
The Prime Minister of Ukraine said that a decree recently signed by President Vladimir Zelensky – on priority measures to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, increase the attractiveness of military service and a gradual transition to a professional army – will eventually bring Ukraine’s armed forces to 361 000 people.
The effort means that Ukraine’s army has been strengthened in recent years, and we hope that they could make some way to level the playing field.
Although Ukraine tripled its defense budget in real terms from 2010 to 2020, its total defense spending in 2020 is only $ 4.3 billion, or a tenth of Russia’s.
Military analysts say Ukraine’s air and missile defenses are weak, making it highly vulnerable to Russian strikes on its critical infrastructure – a tactic already seen by Moscow’s forces at key sites.
They say Russia will also seek to use its superiority in electronic warfare to paralyze enemy command and control and cut off communications with units in the field.
Ukrainian forces have gained combat experience in the Donbass region of the east, where they have been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014, and are highly motivated.
They also have short-range air defenses and anti-tank weapons, including US-supplied Javelin missiles that would help slow down any Russian offensive.
Ukrainian soldiers see themselves on top of a tank heading for the city of Mariupol, near the occupied Donbass
Military vehicles seen on a street on the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine
Soldiers of the Ukrainian army are seen in an armored car after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine
Many of Ukraine’s generals come from the same Soviet Union as Russia’s, and they understand the Kremlin’s tactics – including the use of artillery fire to conquer.
But they also have old weapons left over from the Soviet era.
In addition to the regular army, Ukraine has strong volunteer units for territorial defense and about 900,000 reservists.
Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukrainian authorities will hand over weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country.
“The future of the Ukrainian people depends on every Ukrainian,” he said, urging all those who can defend the country to come to the Interior Ministry’s assembly facilities.
Most older men have at least basic military training, so Russia may face stubborn and sustained resistance if it tries to seize and hold territory.
But experts fear that Ukraine will be overloaded, is air defense. Ukraine relies on an upgraded version of Soviet-era systems, such as the BUK launcher.
Although they may be able to mount some defense, Ukraine’s ground-to-air systems are short-lived and will not protect the entire country.
The military challenge would be incomparably greater than in previous wars in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including in breakaway Chechnya in the 1990s and against Georgia in 2008.
Western countries have stepped up arms supplies to Ukraine, but Kiev says it needs more. The United States has ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine to fight.
A soldier of the Ukrainian army is seen next to multiple missile systems after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, February 24, 2022.
Smoke rising from an air defense base following an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, February 24, 2022
The United States has provided more than $ 2.5 billion in military aid since 2014, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, coastal patrol boats, Humvees, sniper rifles, reconnaissance drones, radar systems, night vision and radio equipment.
Additional supplies may include Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, small arms and boats.
Turkey has sold several batches of Bayraktar TB2 drones to Kiev, which it has deployed against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Britain delivered 2,000 short-range anti-tank missiles to Ukraine in January and sent British specialists for training. He also provided Saxon armored vehicles.
Estonia has said it is sending anti-Javelin missiles, while Latvia and Lithuania are providing Stinger missiles. The Czech Republic has said it plans to donate 152mm of artillery ammunition.
Earlier, Germany cut off arms supplies to Ukraine, but co-financed a $ 6 million field hospital and provided training.
Russian troops launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine from three countries on Thursday, an attack that began with explosions before dawn in the capital Kiev and other cities.
Ukraine’s leadership has said at least 40 people have been killed so far in the so-called “full-scale war” targeting the country from the east, north and south.
In a televised address at the start of the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries that any attempt to intervene would “lead to consequences you have never seen in history.”
Ukrainians began fleeing some cities, and the Russian military claimed to have shut down all of Ukraine’s air defenses and air bases within hours.
World leaders have condemned the beginning of an invasion that could cause mass casualties, overthrow Ukraine’s democratically elected government and threaten the continent’s balance after the Cold War.