Ukrainian media reported over the weekend that convoys of armored vehicles and military trucks had been seen in western Ukraine. The reports coincided with the deployment of troops without insignia, widely believed to be Russian military, in Ukraine’s majority ethnic Russian region of Crimea, which has announced its intention to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia.
Acting Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh denied any link between the exercises and the events in Crimea and said their aim was to determine the combat readiness of the troops.
In his report to acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, Tenyukh says the recent exercises demonstrated a “dismal degree of preparedness among servicemen and lack of military specialists, equipment and weapons” in the Ground Forces, the Air Force and the Navy.
- The defense chief said only 6,000 people out of 41,000 currently serving in the armed forces “are prepared to perform combat tasks.”
- Over 70 percent of tanks and other armored fighting vehicles are “outdated Soviet-made T-64 tanks that have been in service for 30 years and more.”
As of March 1, only four vessels of the Ukrainian Navy are battle-ready: the Navy flagship Hetman Sahaydachniy, the Ternopil anti-submarine corvette, the Slavutych command ship and the Kostiantyn Olshansky large landing ship.
“These ships are incapable of any actions threatening [Russia’s] Black Sea fleet,” the report reads.
- The country’s air defense troops have also received little training because of the 2001 ban on missile launches imposed after the crash of a Russian Tu-154 passenger jet.
The ban was lifted in 2008, but so far only 10 percent of Air Defense Forces servicemen “have mastered the required level of theory and practice,” the report said.
Tenyukh describes the Soviet-made BM-27 Uragan and the BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launchers as “the only effective means to deter aggression and guarantee the defeat of self-defense forces and illegal armed formations in Crimea.”
- However, he opposes their use because of the “high possibility of inaccurate target engagement” and “numerous potential civilian casualties.”
13/3/14
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Ukraine to Incorporate Ex-Protesters into New Military Force...
ReplyDeleteA new military structure, National Guard, to be set up in Ukraine soon, will incorporate protesters, who took part in violent rallies in Kiev earlier this year, a source in the country’s Cabinet of ministers said on Wednesday.
The creation of the National Guard is among measures under consideration to bolster defense capabilities, because the country’s armed forces demonstrated unsatisfactory combat readiness and low morale during snap checks last week, according to a defense ministry report.
On Tuesday, the country’s acting President Oleksandr Turchinov told the parliament that armed forces would have to be rebuilt "effectively from scratch" due to the previous leadership’s mismanagement.
Acting Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh reported to the acting president earlier this week that only 6,000 people out of 41,000 currently serving in the armed forces “are prepared to perform combat tasks.” Only a small share of Ukrainian tanks, military planes, attack helicopters and navy warships are battle-ready, while their crews lack knowledge and training........................http://en.ria.ru/world/20140313/188367735/Ukraine-to-Incorporate-Ex-Protesters-into-New-Military-Force.html
13/3/14
Russia holds military exercises near Ukraine...
ReplyDeleteAbout 8,500 Russian troops are taking part in military exercises near the border with Ukraine involving artillery and multiple rocket launchers, Reuters reported the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on Thursday.
A statement on the ministry’s website confirmed that the exercises had begun at bases in the Southern Military District but did not say how long they would last.
The exercises are likely to cause concern in Ukraine because of the political standoff between Kiev and Moscow over Ukraine’s Crimea region, which is now in the hands of Russian forces.
The drill also comes after a joint exercise involving U.S., Bulgarian and Romanian naval forces in the Black Sea, which started on Wednesday just across the water from the Crimean Peninsula...............http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2014/03/13/Russia-holds-military-exercises-near-Ukraine.html
13/3/14