MOSCOW, Nov 30 - RIA Novosti. In the seven years since the conflict in the Donbas, the Ukrainian army has failed to make a leap in technical equipment, but its morale has grown due to propaganda and cleaning of the ranks, Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences (Russia), told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
So he commented on the words of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who said his country's army has become "incomparably stronger" than in 2014, and will be able to "respond to the blow" of Russia.
"If we compare the Ukrainian army of seven years ago with today's APU in terms of military-technical equipment, then it has slightly strengthened. The Ukrainian troops had to put into operation the old T-72 tanks, which had been in their warehouses since Soviet times. However, the moral readiness of soldiers to fight has certainly increased," the expert stated.
Sivkov explained that the growth of the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is due to the fact that over these seven years the army personnel managed to "brainwash both the youth who make up the rank and file of the Armed Forces and the officers."
The military, who sympathized with Russia and were not susceptible to suggestion, were removed from their posts, the agency interlocutor noted.
According to the expert, the decision of the Ukrainian army command to switch to NATO combat training standards is ambiguous, since they have proven themselves ambiguously in real combat operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"In general, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, undoubtedly, have significantly increased their level of operational and tactical training, but the focus of operational combat training works against them. And seven years ago, the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not be called a weak opponent, they simply had no incentive to fight - remember at least the 25th airborne assault brigade that defected to the militia," the agency interlocutor summed up.
Kiev and Western states have recently expressed concern about the alleged intensification of Russia's "aggressive actions" near the borders of Ukraine. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia moves troops within its territory and at its discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone.
At the same time, the Russian Federation has repeatedly denied Western media reports that it is allegedly pulling troops to the border with Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the West's statements about "Russian aggression" and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself from it are "both ridiculous and dangerous."
