Military expert: Ukrainian army is three times stronger that its opponent in the Donbas
A statement made by the General Staff Chief, Viktor Muzhenko, about the numerous losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should the Donbas be liberated by force is more political than military. Its goal is to confirm the opinion in the minds and souls of Ukrainians that there is no alternative to Poroshenko's peaceful plan, military expert Oleg Zhdanov stated in an interview with 24 TV.
According to the expert, Muzhenko can’t make comments about the other option since he supports Poroshenko's policy. It is possible, Zhdanov says, to forecast various variants of losses. In one case, the losses will be huge, and in the other one, they will be minimal. If the enemy has 200 tanks, 300 combat vehicles, 100 multiple rocket launchers, and 200 guns, then it will be necessary to attack, as in 1941, and the losses will be serious.
The main factors in these calculations are the strength of the enemy's troops, the number of tanks, guns, and aircraft, and the strength of the defensive forces, as well as their motivation. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, officially announced the number of the enemy forces at about “35,000 – 40,000 people, including mercenaries and collaborators. At the same time, Russian intelligence estimates our forces to be about 80,000 – 90,000, giving us an almost threefold advantage," Zhdanov notes.
Therefore, the military notes, it is difficult to say on what ratios Muzhenko based his calculations that estimated such big losses. After all, Ukraine still has partners who help us. In particular, two aviation units are concentrated in Poland and the Baltics.
Nobody will let Russia escalate the conflict in the Donbass. If the Russian Federation decides to use aviation, then NATO will do the same, alongside the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces. In order to talk about aviation success, it is necessary to destroy our Air Defense Forces," Zhdanov stressed.
Earlier, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Viktor Muzhenko, said that if there were a forceful return of the Donbas, Ukraine would suffer huge losses among both military and civilian populations.
Muzhenko noted that, according to the General Staff’s calculations, a ten-day military operation involving aviation could result in the loss of 10,000 – 12,000 personnel.