Is The Ukrainian Army Improving?

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

Denys Kiryukhin, FPRI: The Ukrainian Military: From Degradation to Renewal

In August 2015, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense officially launched a comprehensive effort to overhaul the country’s armed forces as conflict razed through the country’s Donbas region. Three years later, fighting capabilities have reached their highest levels since independence in 1991. Yet, Ukraine’s security problem persists, as its military potential remains vastly inferior to that of its primary adversary: Russia. This deficiency would not be so great had Ukraine not renounced its nuclear weapons in 1996 under the Budapest Memorandum’s security guarantees—or if the country had a clear prospect of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, as neither of these options exists today, Ukraine must rely on its own conventional forces.

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WNU Editor: The Ukraine Army has improved with the help of western countries. But it is far from being the effective force that many had hoped it would be by now. As to the more important question .... can the Ukraine Army retake the eastern part of the country? The answer is no.

Ukraine Is Building Up Their Own Spetnaz Military Force

Joseph Trevithick, The Drive: Ukrainian Spetnaz's Weapons and Gear May Show an American Touch

A key part of the fight against Russian-backed separatists, Ukraine's spetnaz starting to look more and more like their Western counterparts.

New photos of Ukrainian special operations forces show a steady increase in Western influence. With elite forces already a critical part of the fight against Russian-backed separatists in the country’s eastern Donbass region, officials in Kiev have no doubt been keen to take any lessons, even indirectly, from their counterparts in the United States and Europe.

One June 8, 2017, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense posted a number of undated images of special operators or candidates during training. The pictures showed troops maneuvering through temperate, snowy, urban, and nighttime environments, as well as conducting apparent team-building type exercises. More importantly, their weapons and gear are very similar to the kit that American and Western European special operations forces commonly employ.

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WNU Editor: These Ukrainian special operations forces will not only be focused on the war in the East .... but I am willing to bet that they will also be focused on what may happen in Ukraine itself. They are a lot of unhappy people with the current situation in the country .... and they have weapons. Having Ukrainian special forces trained and nearby in case things may get out of hand is a good idea .... especially with Presidential elections only 2 years away.

Ukraine SAM launcher Tips Over (Photos)

© Спартак Сергієнко / Facebook

RT: Load fail: SAM launcher brought for military show in Ukraine flips over (PHOTOS)

A surface-to-air missile launcher, which was supposed to have served as a showpiece at an arms exhibition in Ukraine, got flipped over as it was being loaded on a transport vehicle. Pictures of the upended vehicle drew sarcastic comments on social media.

The embarrassing incident happened in the Ukrainian city of Konotop which was set to mark a historic battle, which took place over three centuries ago. The 9K35 Strela-10 launcher was delivered to the city as one of the exhibits of an open air military expo.

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WNU Editor: Oooppsss ....

Ukraine's Regular Army Remains Disorganized And Poorly Equipped

US and Ukrainian soldiers attend an opening ceremony of the joint Ukrainian-US military exercise 'Fearless Guardian' at the Yavoriv training ground in the western region of Lviv on April 20, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yuriy Dyachyshyn)

Reuters: Guns and underpants: Ukrainian army hobbled by bureaucratic woes

After more than a year of fighting in eastern Ukraine, the country's regular army remains disorganized and poorly equipped. "The Defense Ministry needed to test underpants for a year before approving them for use. I'm not kidding," President Petro Poroshenko told a meeting of regional chiefs this month.

Building up an army to withstand the threat from Russia and pro-Russian separatists has been a formidable task. When Moscow annexed Crimea and conflict erupted in Ukraine's east, Kiev had outdated Soviet equipment and just 180,000 troops, of whom only 5,000 were battle ready, according to a speech Poroshenko made last month. The government has since boosted military spending to an unprecedented 5 percent of gross domestic product and increased troop numbers to 250,000. Some 50,000 are actively serving in the east.

But examples of incompetence and corruption within the military regularly appear in Ukrainian media. In June, Segodnya newspaper reported that an administrative error had left eight servicemen on their way to the front stranded for days in the city of Kharkiv.

Update: Ukraine Military Seeks to Modernize Past Soviet Era -- Defense News

WNU Editor: The U.S. is still committed to training the Ukraine Army .... U.S. to Train More Ukrainian Troops (Time) .... my advice to the U.S. and other NATO countries who want to boost the Ukraine Army .... start from scratch.