Arsenals of Ukraine

[Eugen]

After the collapse of the USSR, the Army of Ukraine was really powerful, now there are only miserable crumbs of its former power. How did this happen and what can be expected in the future?

Excursion into the past

Upon withdrawing from the Soviet Union and declaring independence, Ukraine took under its jurisdiction the armed forces and the corresponding infrastructure of the three districts located on its territory - Kiev, Odessa and Carpathian. As a result, the Ukrainian army was one of the most powerful in Europe in its power, possessing nuclear weapons and fairly modern types of other weapons and military equipment.

Under the jurisdiction of Ukraine passed: the infrastructure of three military districts (Kiev, Carpathian, Odessa); 14 motorized rifle, 4 tank, 3 artillery divisions; 8 artillery brigades; Special Forces Brigade; 9 air defense brigades; 7 regiments of combat helicopters; 3 air armies (about 1100 combat aircraft) and a separate air defense army. The strategic nuclear forces deployed in Ukraine had 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as about 2,600 tactical nuclear weapons. At the time of Ukraine's independence, the number of its troops was about 700 thousand people.

At the beginning of 2010, the strength of the army of Ukraine was only 196 thousand people. Mass dismissals from military service are primarily associated with insufficient funding. The housing promised by the state, many officers have been waiting since the last century. In total, about 48 thousand officer families are in the housing queue, 13 thousand of them for more than 10 years. As for wages, an ordinary contractor receives 870 hryvnias, a junior sergeant with 3 years of service - 1100 hryvnias, which is half the average salary in the country, and a lieutenant colonel - a battalion commander with 18 years of service, receives 2500 hryvnias, that is, much less than the average official. But a soldier must still support his family for a small salary and pay rent. Not surprisingly, in 2009 alone, 2.5 officers left the ranks of the Ukrainian army, including 2,000 contract soldiers. And this trend does not stop.

The army is not only the defense system of the state, it protects its traditions, educates young people, as does the school. And this educational institution is falling apart before our eyes, it does not seem honorable to devote our lives to military service. However, many young people are trying to get into the army by hook or by crook. Sometimes bribes are even given so that the military enlistment office closes their eyes to minor health problems. That's just not connected with the prestige of military service, but with the fact that the unemployment rate, especially in the periphery, is very high. Young people go to the army, hoping to later get to work in the police or security.

Scanty cash flows to the needs of the army led to the fact that in 2008 out of 112 fighter jets, only 31, 10 out of 24 bombers, only half of 12 reconnaissance planes and 8 out of 39 attack aircraft were in operational condition. That is, only 30% of aviation. The situation has not changed in 2009.

Armored vehicles and artillery systems are only 60% ready for combat situations. The development of the missile system has stopped. There are no funds for the modernization of aircraft and tanks. With the Navy, the situation is even worse. Only 30% of the ships remained in service. Nowhere to repair them. The shipbuilding industry is almost destroyed.

The budget of Ukraine includes defense costs of 6 thousand dollars, per one soldier. In Russia, this figure is 8 times higher, and in France, 23 times higher.

The need of the armed forces in warehousing is covered by 20%, food by 60-70%, the cost of fuels and lubricants is 10-12% of the required, and only 2% of the funds are allocated to digital communications. Almost no waiting for new equipment. In 2009, not a single unit of new equipment was purchased. Only 2 units were modernized - the BMP-1U infantry fighting vehicle and one T-64B tank.

With combat training, things are very bad. In 2008, the best of the pilots flew only 50 hours. The average in 2009 was 4 hours. For comparison, in NATO forces, this figure is 120 hours. Shooting takes place once every three years, despite the fact that the service life of conscripts is one year, that is, only one out of three can shoot. In Soviet times, firing was carried out once every six months.

Army Financing

The fact that the Ukrainian army is on the verge of destruction due to the fault of the budget allocated for defense was announced in 2009 by the press service of the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry says that financing the needs of the army violates even Ukrainian legislation, according to which 3% of GDP should be allocated for the needs of the army. In 2009, 0.83% was allocated. Yes, and these funds came unevenly, which led to the inability to pay even for energy and utilities. The incredible happened - over 70 military facilities were disconnected from electricity, including the air defense base. Ukraine is not able to fulfill 75% of international agreements, and the construction of housing for the military has been stopped.

In fact, for the existence and development of the Ukrainian army in 2010, about 32 billion hryvnias were required, just for existence - 19.8 billion, and 11.6 billion were allocated. In 2009, 11.7 billion hryvnias were allocated, of which 4.2 - from a special fund, that is, the military was offered to sell something.

Corruption in the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The level of corruption in the armed forces is very high, despite the low funding, and, accordingly, the low level of salaries, the leadership is doing well. And corruption flourishes for three simple reasons. The low level of salaries leads to the fact that, being honest, you will not live well. According to the law, the Ministry of Defense evaluates and sells army assets, and also conducts their inventory, so it’s easier to turn a blind eye to all kinds of violations. But ordinary officers are brought to trial, it is very rare to see someone from the leadership on the dock.

Doors to the army - draft board. As before, military commissar employees are periodically held liable for bribes that allow the conscript to avoid military service. Recently, they began to take bribes to get into the army, despite small deviations in health status, because for most young people the army is the only chance to get a well-paid job in the police and security.


The servicemen have to give good bribes in order to get housing out of turn or to go to serve as a peacemaker, because their salary is about 2 thousand dollars, compared with the Ukrainian at 300 dollars a month. And an apartment can be obtained "only" for 15-20% of its cost, but how can a simple officer get such money ...

Not bad army ranks profit from the sale of fuel abroad, while performing peacekeeping missions, or the sale of written-off gasoline and fuel to truckers. Budget funds are “saved” on non-repair equipment, on exercises, on the development of automated control systems for army needs. Huge amounts of money were paid to the designers, computer equipment was bought that spent many years in warehouses and has long been outdated, only the work is still in its infancy.

Land for sale belongs to the military department for nothing. Sometimes it “changes” to apartments for military personnel, and the cost of land and apartments on the periphery are not comparable. Or the foundation is sold in a field for 10 thousand hryvnias, and in addition to it, the field itself costs several million. Sometimes the land is transferred into the wrong hands by letters of exemption. So the armed forces lost a children's camp for the children of military personnel and many coastal territories in Sevastopol.


Who needs it all

It is said out loud that there is no external threat to Ukraine, and therefore there is no need to maintain the army that was inherited from the Soviet Union, so reducing the army only benefits the budget.

At the same time, a demoralized, weak army has access to instruments of violence. And the ruling class understands perfectly well who the army bayonets will turn against in the event of a popular revolt. No wonder the army is weakening, and the police, on the contrary, are encouraged by rising salaries, increasing attention to the training of internal troops and tightening nuts in the media.

The army has been brought to a stage where the danger is not posed by the armed forces themselves, but by military depots that will open access to weapons for the rebels, which has already happened in the history of Ukraine.

Source: [DLMURL] https://newsland.com/news/detail/id/778516/ [/ DLMURL]

 

[Матушкин Андрей Николаевич]

Thank.
It is sad ...: cry:

 

[Гудимов Анатолий Геннадиевич]

The one who cannot support his army-contains someone else's, in our realities, as a rule, American ....

 

[Орлан]

all sold, or cut into metal.

 

[Частный детектив Волгодонск]

The cobblestone pavements then remained.