It is pointless to compare the power of the Armed Forces of Russia and Ukraine, since they are "completely different leagues". On Friday, June 4, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.
"It is pointless to directly compare the power of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, they are just completely different leagues. Ukraine is very much inferior in terms of the size of the army, the quality of weapons, and the budget. Despite all the efforts of the last seven years and the support of the West, there is not a single area of military affairs where the armed forces of Ukraine were at least on an equal footing with Russia," he said.
The expert noted that in addition to the samples of weapons, the forces of the fleets on the Black Sea are incomparable. While the Russian Black Sea Fleet has already been replenished with modern frigates, corvettes and submarines, the Ukrainian received only lightly armed armored boats and decommissioned American patrol boats. The construction of their own large ships for the AFU could not be established, and plans for the purchase of foreign ones rest on a lack of budget, Boltenkov added.
"Under the President [of Ukraine Vladimir]] The pace of rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has only fallen. Mass purchases of modern weapons are now too expensive. The Ukrainian army can measure forces with the people's republics, but neither for the Crimea, nor for the rest of Russia, it does not pose a threat, " the military expert concluded.
Earlier in the day, the National Interest published an article by American journalist Mark Episkopos, in which he gave a low estimate of the chances of success of the Ukrainian army in the event of an armed conflict with Russia.
He noted that the S-400 "Triumph" air defense systems located in the Crimea pose a serious threat to Ukraine, since they are capable of hitting a target at a distance of 400 km. In addition, the Su-35 fighters of the Russian Air Force, equipped with air-to-ground missiles and guided bombs, can cause significant damage to the enemy's aviation and key infrastructure.
The journalist also pointed to the lack of tanks in Kiev to resist the T-90A and self-propelled howitzers 2S19 "Msta". At the same time, Episkopos stressed that any conflict does not exclude international intervention that can change the balance of power.
Earlier, on June 2, the President of Ukraine met with a group of US senators and discussed with them the possibility of increasing military assistance to the country to strengthen the combat capability of the republic. Before that, on May 25, Zelensky submitted to the Verkhovna Rada bills aimed at increasing the number of the country's armed forces.
On May 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the United States and its NATO allies are increasing military activity in Ukraine and in the Black Sea. He noted that only in 2021, seven joint military exercises with NATO countries are planned to be held on the territory of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian military is participating in the largest NATO exercises Defender Europe 2021.