Belarus vs. Ukraine
Military
| Belarus | Ukraine | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Belarus Armed Forces: Army, Air and Air Defense Force, Special Operations Force, Special Troops (electronic warfare, signals, engineers, biological/chemical/nuclear protection troops, etc); Ministry of Interior: State Border Troops, Militia, Internal Troops (2021) | Armed Forces of Ukraine (Zbroyni Syly Ukrayiny, ZSU): Ground Forces (Sukhoputni Viys'ka), Naval Forces (Viys'kovo-Mors'ki Syly, VMS), Air Forces (Povitryani Syly, PS), Air Assault Forces (Desantno-shturmovi Viyska, DShV), Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (UASOF), Territorial Defense Forces (Reserves); Ministry of Internal Affairs: National Guard of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (includes Maritime Border Guard) (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-27 years of age for compulsory military or alternative service; conscript service obligation is 12-18 months, depending on academic qualifications, and 24-36 months for alternative service, depending on academic qualifications; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2020) | conscription abolished in 2012, but reintroduced in 2014; 20-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is 12 months (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% of GDP (2019) 1.2% of GDP (2018) 1.2% of GDP (2017) 1.3% of GDP (2016) 1.3% of GDP (2015) | 3% of GDP (2020 est.) 3.9% of GDP (2019) 3.7% of GDP (2018) 3.1% of GDP (2017) 3.6% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | the Belarus Armed Forces have approximately 45,000 active duty troops; information on the individual services varies, but probably includes about 25,000 Army, 15,000 Air/Air Defense, and 5,000 Special Operations forces (2020) | information varies; approximately 200,000 active troops (150,000 Army, including Airborne/Air Assault Forces; 12,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force); approximately 50,000 National Guard (2020) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the inventory of the Belarus Armed Forces is comprised of Russian-origin equipment; Belarus's defense industry manufactures some equipment, including vehicles, guided weapons, and electronic warfare systems (2021) | the Ukrainian military is equipped mostly with older Russian and Soviet-era weapons systems; since 2010, it has imported limited quantities of weapons from several European countries, as well as Canada, the US, and the United Arab Emirates; Ukraine has a broad defense industry capable of building Soviet-era land systems and maintaining and upgrading Soviet-era combat aircraft, as well as missile and air defense systems (2020) |
| Military deployments | contributes forces to CSTO's Rapid Reaction Force (2020) | 250 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (2021) note - Ukraine contributes about 500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Warsaw and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units |
Source: CIA Factbook
