With Russian President Vladimir Putin's acknowledgment of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics from Ukraine, the Ukrainian crisis has entered a new phase marked by escalations from the Russian side, signaling a potential confrontation between the Ukrainian and Russian armies, the latter of which has deployed over 100,000 troops along the shared border. Amid the general mobilization in Ukraine and the Russian military presence at the border, questions arise about Ukraine's capacity to withstand any potential Russian attack.
The following summarizes the military capabilities of both countries. The Russian army possesses a larger military force compared to its Ukrainian counterpart, ranking second globally, while the Ukrainian army is ranked 22nd. Russia has 900,000 active military personnel across its forces, in contrast to Ukraine's 196,600. This disparity reflects a broader military dominance stemming from Russia's defense budget, which surpasses that of Ukraine.
In terms of naval forces, Russia has 100 times the number of naval personnel, operating 74 warships and 51 submarines, compared to Ukraine’s two warships. On land, the difference narrows somewhat, with the Russian army consisting of 280,000 troops compared to Ukraine's 125,600, which also has 900,000 reserve personnel, compared to Russia's two million.
Regarding military equipment, Russian superiority is evident with ratios ranging from 2.2 to 1. Russia possesses three times the artillery, six times the number of tanks, and about seven times more armored vehicles than Ukraine. In the air, the story is similar, as Russia holds ten times more attack aircraft and helicopters than Ukraine, which has over 400 surface-to-air missile launchers capable of targeting aircraft—equivalent to one-tenth of what Russia has.
Russia has 165,000 active personnel in the air force, compared to about 35,000 in Ukraine, and possesses 1,328 attack aircraft versus 146 for Ukraine. Additionally, Russia has over 478 combat helicopters, while Ukraine has 42. Russia also boasts a significant advantage in long-range weapons, with over 500 ground-based ballistic missile launchers, according to "Sky News."
