Can Ukraine Ward Off Russian Military Might? Here Is How Their Armed Forces Stack Up

Russia-Ukraine Crisis: A look at the numbers show Ukraine's armed forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned by Russia's.

New Delhi: As Russian troops launched a major military assault on Ukraine, the question that arises is how long the east European country would be able to challenge the might of Kremlin.

Its hardly a surprise that Russia, which has the fourth-biggest military budget in the world, possesses more manpower and advanced weapons than Ukraine.

A look at the numbers show Ukraine's armed forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned by Russia's, a report in the Reuters said.

However, military experts Reuters spoke to said Ukraine might inflict heavy casualties on Russian troops. Experts said 
Ukraine's army was better trained and equipped than in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine without a fight. 

How Does Military Power Of Russia And Ukraine Stack Up Against Eachother? 

According to London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russia's army has about 280,000 personnel and its combined armed forces total about 900,000. 

Russia has 2,840 battle tanks, outnumbering Ukraine's by more than three to one.

According to Global Firepower data, Russia possesses: 4,173 aircraft, 1,543 helicopters, 30,122 armoured vehicles, 12,420 tanks, 544 attack helicopters and 772 fighter aircraft. Its naval fleet strength is 605.

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On the other hand, Ukraine's active personnel strength is 2,00,000 and naval fleet strength is 38. It has 50,000 paramilitary forces, 318 aircraft, 122 helicopters, 12,303 armoured vehicles, 2,596 tanks, 34 attack helicopters and 69 fighter aircraft.

Ukraine also has short-range air defences and anti-tank weaponry, including US-supplied Javelin missiles.

Even though Ukraine trebled its defence budget in real terms from 2010 to 2020, its total defence expenditure in 2020 was only $4.3 billion (€3.8 billion), just a tenth of Russia's, Reuters reported.

Military analysts said Ukraine's anti-aircraft and anti-missile defences were weak, leaving it highly vulnerable to Russian strikes on its critical infrastructure.

Infact, Russian military claimed to have incapacitated all of Ukraine's air defenses and air bases within hours on Thursday. Ukraine has, however, rubbished the claim.