How does Ukraine's army size up to the Russian war machine? The numbers make for grim reading

Ukraine's armed forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned by Russia's, but as Russia begans a large-scale invasion on Thursday, military experts say they would be capable of mounting significant resistance and inflicting heavy casualties.

Ukraine's army is also better trained and equipped than in 2014, when Russia captured the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine without a fight and is widely seen as highly-motivated to defend the country's heartland.

So, how does Ukraine's military stack up against the invading Russian forces?

In terms of manpower and weapons, the arithmetic looks grim for Ukraine.

Most military experts' estimates put the number of Russian troops near Russia's border with Ukraine at more than 100,000. Russia has also moved some troops to Belarus, north of Ukraine, for military drills.

Russia's army has about 280,000 personnel and its combined armed forces total about 900,000, while its 2,840 battle tanks outnumber Ukraine's by more than three to one, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Ukraine's prime minister said a decree recently signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy - on priority measures to strengthen the state's defence capabilities, increase the attractiveness of military service and the gradual transition to a professional army - would eventually bring Ukraine's armed forces to 361,000 personnel.

Although Ukraine trebled its defence budget in real terms from 2010 to 2020, its total defence expenditure in 2020 amounted to only $4.3 billion (€3.8 billion), just a tenth of Russia's.

Military analysts say Ukraine's anti-aircraft and anti-missile defences are weak, leaving it highly vulnerable to Russian strikes on its critical infrastructure. They say Russia