RT reported that the Ukrainian army has dropped for the second year in a row in the ranking of the world's most powerful armies published by the Global Firepower organization. In contrast, Russia has held the second place for more than a decade.
In its 2025 Military Strength Ranking, Global Firepower ranked the US military at the top with a "PowerIndex" of 0.0744 (closer to zero means stronger), followed by Russia (0.0788) and China (0.0788). Ukraine fell to 20th place with an index of 0.3755, after ranking 18th last year and 15th in 2023.
Since 2006, Global Firepower has analyzed and ranked the military strength of 145 armed forces, based on more than 60 factors such as manpower, equipment, natural resources, finance and geography. Notably, the rankings do not take into account nuclear arsenals.
Speaking in mid-December 2024, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov estimated that Ukraine had suffered nearly 1 million casualties and lost about 20,000 tanks and armored vehicles since the conflict escalated in February 2022.
According to this general, while "the US and its allies significantly increased military aid to Ukraine", Russian forces continued to dominate the battlefield.
In a recent interview, Vladimir Shylov, former commander of Ukraine's 134th Territorial Defense Battalion, accused the Kiev government of causing corruption and mismanagement, which has made Ukraine "no longer a functioning state."
He warned that if this situation continued, the Ukrainian army could be overwhelmed by Russia, and Moscow forces could advance all the way to the Dnieper River.
The former commander also criticized Ukraine's continued invasion of Russia's Kursk region, describing it as a political ploy with no real military-strategic value. He pointed out that the operation had not stopped Russia from gaining territory in recent months.
Some Western media also reported that many Ukrainian soldiers complained about a serious shortage of manpower, even though Kiev has increased the mobilization of men of fighting age.
