Analysts of the research service of the US Congress spoke about the main vulnerabilities of the Ukrainian army, writes RT.
According to experts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not ready for the outbreak of a conflict in Donbass in 2014 due to years of negligence towards the state of the army and lack of funding. However, Congress noted that since then, the state of the troops has improved thanks to assistance from the North Atlantic Alliance and the United States.
“Despite the large volume of the defense industry and stocks of weapons, many of the equipment available to Ukraine are outdated and in need of substantial repairs. Low salaries, lack of educational opportunities and a lack of housing (especially for families) can contribute to high turnover and limit the length of service of professional soldiers and junior commanders”, the US analysts said in a report.
In addition, the experts of the Congress stressed that Kiev should not count on an early entry into the North Atlantic Alliance, as a number of European states understand that “Ukraine’s membership in the alliance will exacerbate the already complicated relations between Russia and the West. According to political scientist Alexander Dudchak, the United States does not want to admit Kiev to the Alliance at all and uses the topic of accession to keep the country under its influence.
“This is just rhetoric in order to once again promise something to Kiev, to tell about the prospects that will not be realized. The West believes that Ukraine should strive to join NATO, but not join yet. For excuses, there are always preparations on duty about corruption and reforms that are poorly implemented”, the expert said in an interview with RT.