Ukraine's army is obsolete but battle-hardened, New York Times report says


Ukraine's army may have trouble transitioning from low-level conflict with Russian-backed separatists to full-scale war with Russia, a New York Times report published Tuesday claimed.
According to the Times, the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which began in 2014 and has killed more than 14,000 people, "is fought mostly with rifles, machines guns, rocket propelled grenades, mortars and artillery systems dating to the 1970s or earlier." Ukrainian tactics, which focus on infantry-heavy trench warfare, are seen as equally outdated.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Eastern European NATO members have all sent high-tech anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, but Ukrainian troops have little to no experience using these weapons in combat.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The more than 100,000 troops Russia has massed on Ukraine's border would enjoy a number of advantages over Ukrainian forces, including air superiority and more modern weapons. Forbes suggested last month that "infantry packing anti-tank missiles, scurrying across a network of trenches and bunkers, are central to Ukraine's defense plans" but that Russia could use fuel-air explosives to neutralize these fortifications.
Fuel-air weapons, Forbes explained, "burst over their targets, spreading a fuel vapor, before exploding and igniting the fuel and creating a pressure wave that's twice as powerful as that from a conventional artillery shell." Defenses like trenches reportedly don't protect against the effects of fuel-air explosives.
Ukrainian forces on the eastern front operate mostly out of trenches soldiers dig for themselves. The Times reported that the entrenched position their reporters visited was covered with plastic sheeting.
The Times writes that Ukraine's forces are in "far better shape than in 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula," but remain "decidedly old-fashioned."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
July 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an extrajudicial detainment camp, 'alligator Alcatraz', and tax cuts for billionaires.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of July
Cartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Ottawa Treaty: why are Russia's neighbours leaving anti-landmine agreement?
Today's Big Question Ukraine to follow Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as Nato looks to build a new ‘Iron Curtain' of millions of landmines
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
How far would Russia go for Iran?
Today's Big Question US air strikes represent an 'embarrassment, provocation and opportunity' all rolled into one for Vladimir Putin
-
Are the UK and Russia already at war?
Today's Big Question Moscow has long been on a 'menacing' war footing with London, says leading UK defence adviser
-
Is UK's new defence plan transformational or too little, too late?
Today's Big Question Labour's 10-year strategy 'an exercise in tightly bounded ambition' already 'overshadowed by a row over money'
-
How will the MoD's new cyber command unit work?
Today's Big Question Defence secretary outlines plans to combat 'intensifying' threat of cyberattacks from hostile states such as Russia
-
What are the different types of nuclear weapons?
The Explainer Speculation mounts that post-war taboo on nuclear weapons could soon be shattered by use of 'battlefield' missiles