Its Military May Not Compare To Russia's, But Says Retired Ukrainian General 'Aghanistan Can't Beat The Taliban'

The flag of Ukraine (Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - It is unreasonable to compare the military power of Ukraine with Russia. But it would also be a big mistake to judge that Ukraine could not do anything if war broke out.

The long war has left Ukraine with half a million combat-experienced veterans. That does not include the official or unofficial.

"The Russian army has better weapons and technical equipment than ours. So we may lose the battle. But they can never win the country if the Ukrainian people are motivated", said Serhiy Kryvonos, a retired special forces general and former deputy secretary of the national security and defense council as reported by The Guardian, Wednesday, February 23.

Kryvonos has been touring the country. Meet with many veterans to organize weapons training and prepare for a popular uprising in case the Russians attack.

And he took the example of what happened to Afghanistan.

The world was shocked when suddenly the Taliban managed to control every inch of the country. Even though behind Afghanistan, there are many countries with military strength which on paper count are not opponents for the Taliban.

"Look at the Afghan experience. It could not be held by the Soviet Union, by the US, by the UK", he said.

“They couldn't beat the Taliban because they were well motivated. Their strongest weapons are their partisans, civilians during the day, then at night they take guns to shoot or bury bombs in the street.”

Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin assessed that Russia's security threat could increase drastically if Ukraine finally joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Ukraine's joining NATO and the pact's deployment of missiles in Eastern Europe are Moscow's concerns that have sparked a debate with Kyiv. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but has pledged since 2008, to be allowed to join, a move that would bring the US-led alliance to Russia's borders.

"If Russia faces a threat such as the entry of Ukraine into the North Atlantic Alliance, into NATO, then the threat to our country will increase many times", said President Putin and recalled Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty "from which it is clear that all alliance countries must fight on the side of one of its members if one of the Allies is deemed attacked", as quoted from TASS on February 22.

President Putin recalled that Russia was told by several NATO countries against Ukraine becoming a member of the alliance. However, a memorandum had been signed earlier, opening the door for NATO to Ukraine and Georgia.

"There is no answer to my question 'why did you do it?' Under pressure from the US – that's the answer", President Putin concluded.

"I will explain, the US strategic planning document sets out an option called a preemptive strike on the enemy missile system. And we know who the main enemy of the US and NATO is. That is Russia. The NATO document officially, unequivocally declares Russia as the main threat to the security of the Euro -Atlantic. And Ukraine will be a platform for such attacks", he said.