Russia vs Ukraine military comparison 2023 | Statista (2024)

Russia's military capabilities outnumbered those of Ukraine for most indicators as of 2023. For example, the number of aircraft at the disposal of the Russian Army was close to 4.2 thousand, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces possessed over 310 aircraft. Russia's naval fleet was nearly 16 times larger than Ukraine's. Moreover, Russia was one of the nine countries that possessed nuclear weapons. As of early 2022, Russia held the world's largest inventory of nuclear warheads.

How many soldiers does Ukraine have?

Ukraine's Army counted approximately 500 thousand military personnel as of 2023. Of them, 200 thousand were active military staff. Furthermore, 250 thousand soldiers were part of the country's reserve forces. To compare, Russia had approximately four times more active military personnel and the same number of reserve military personnel. Russia's active soldier count was the fifth largest worldwide.

Ukraine's tank strength

Ukraine's Armed Forces possessed less than 1.9 thousand tanks as of 2023, which was more than six times less than Russia's. To support Ukraine during the Russian invasion, several Western countries made commitments to deliver tanks to Ukraine, including Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and M1 Abrams. Furthermore, Ukraine received other types of armored vehicles from Western countries, such as M133 armored personnel carriers from the United States and Mastiff (6x6) protected patrol vehicles from the United Kingdom.