this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2025
92 points (95.1% liked)

World News

49023 readers
2159 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Early in the war, the balance was radically different. In the lead-up to the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia’s army had about 1 million troops, with some 150,000 - 190,000 concentrated along Ukraine’s borders with Russia and Belarus.

At the time, Ukraine’s military had some 260,000 in active service, but the country mobilized up to 700,000 men by mid-summer, handing it a manpower advantage over the invading Russian forces, who had by then been expelled from the Kyiv region. Russia was forced to conduct a “partial mobilization” of about 300,000 reservists to stabilize the front line after yielding thousands of square kilometers of territory in eastern Ukraine.

In 2023, Russian recruitment picked up, introducing thousands of prison inmates to the army as well as mercenary groups like the infamous Wagner private military company and offering significant sign-up bonuses to volunteers. Ukraine, on the other hand, was struggling to find new recruits to replace losses. As analysts from the investigative group, the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) observed, this was the year that momentum shifted in Moscow’s favor, as Russia’s recruitment drive neutralized Ukraine’s manpower advantage while Kyiv faced mounting difficulties replenishing its ranks.

In 2025, according to The Military Balance, an annual assessment of military capabilities worldwide, Russia’s numbers of active-duty personnel reached over 1.13 million -- with Syrskiy claiming that some 640,000 of them were on Ukrainian territory, a figure echoed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Ukraine's total troop strength is officially over 1 million, the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) says not more than 300,000 of them are deployed on the front lines.

Russia Recruiting More Than Ukraine According to the OSW, Ukraine needs to recruit some 300,000 soldiers to replenish its brigades, some of which are only at 30 percent strength. Last year, it managed 200,000, a number that “proved insufficient to maintain unit strength at an adequate level” given “the scale of desertions and personnel losses,” the OSW report says. Currently, Ukraine is estimated to recruit 17,000 to 24,000 people per month, or between 204,000 and 288,000 per year.

While it has had to increase its sign-up bonuses, Russian recruitment is estimated to have increased to a rate of about 30,000 per month –- an advantage of roughly 70-150,000 per year.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] MagicAbyss@lemmy.blahaj.zone 27 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

To be fair, the soldiers Russia recruits are ill prepared and clueless.

[–] Lembot_0004@discuss.online 15 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Do you think random Ukrainians become Rembo-Terminators after a few weeks on the polygon?

[–] MagicAbyss@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

No, but they are actually trained and know how the tech or weapons work.

[–] Lembot_0004@discuss.online 0 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I doubt that Russians have less or worse training. Shooting a few hundred bullets and a few grenades from an RPG won't make you a soldier. Yes, I know how it works. At least on the Ukrainian side. The only nice thing we had -- an unexpectedly large amount of time on field medicine.

[–] MagicAbyss@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Russia allegedly just takes civilians and sends them to the battlegrounds, with 0 training. Ukrainian soldiers actually go through training, and in high quality. I heard Ukraine outsources their training to NATO countries like Norway, setting a precedent to quality.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

Exactly. There are also more and more articles describing how Russia tricks foreigners into coming to Russia for non-existent jobs then forcibly sends them to the front lines. It’s probably a safe bet that the training of such “recruits” boils down to a threat that they’ll be shot by the Russians if they attempt to retreat.

[–] Lembot_0004@discuss.online 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Russia allegedly just takes civilians and sends them to the battlegrounds, with 0 training.

That sounds like a cheap propaganda cliché. Completely unbelievable. Most probably based on a few standalone anecdotes. Or maybe just a lie.

I heard Ukraine outsources their training to NATO countries like Norway, setting a precedent to quality.

Yes, some people have their training in Europe (England mostly, never heard about Norway, but that's an unimportant detail). However, this is primarily intended for officers and sturm troops. Trench infantry is neglected.

[–] MagicAbyss@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Part 1: MANY sources say this, not much valid counter sources.

Part 2: Infantry still has to go through a decent amount of training and are sent to more safe zones at first. You can't say that this is "Propaganda", because I have heard from relatives in Ukraine who have been recruited.

[–] Lembot_0004@discuss.online 1 points 7 hours ago

Well, continue to believe in whatever you want. My practice shows a completely different picture.

[–] stoicmaverick@lemmy.world 15 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Yes, but quantity has a quality of its own.

[–] MagicAbyss@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Sounds philosophical. I agree, Just saying, those numbers don't mean Russia has much of an advantage.

In other more confusing terms: Ukraine has quality in its quantity while Russia has more quantity which gives quality itself, though the quantity consists of bad quality. This makes the general quality not be too different.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 8 points 15 hours ago

During the war yes. After the war the demographic fallout for Russia and for Ukraine will be catastrophic.