Russia vs. Poland
Military
| Russia | Poland | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Ground Troops (Sukhoputnyye Voyskia, SV), Navy (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot, VMF), Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS); Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnyye Voyska, VDV), and Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN) referred to commonly as Strategic Rocket Forces, are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation (National Guard (FSVNG), Russian Guard, or Rosgvardiya): created in 2016 as an independent agency for internal/regime security, combating terrorism and narcotics trafficking, protecting important state facilities and government personnel, and supporting border security; forces under the National Guard include the Special Purpose Mobile Units (OMON), Special Rapid Response Detachment (SOBR), and Interior Troops (VV); these troops were originally under the command of the Interior Ministry (MVD) Federal Security Services Border Troops (includes land and maritime forces) (2021) | Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces (Wojska Ladowe), Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Air Force (Sily Powietrzne), Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne), Territorial Defense Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej); Ministry of the Interior: Border Guard (includes coast guard duties) (2021) note: the Polish Armed Forces are organized into a General Staff, an Armed Forces General Command, an Armed Forces Operational Command, Territorial Defense Forces, Military Police, and the Warsaw Garrison Command |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; one-year service obligation (Russia offers the option of serving on a two-year contract instead of completing a one-year conscription period); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces (2019) note: in April of 2019, the Russian government pledged its intent to end conscription | 18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription phased out in 2009-12; professional soldiers serve on a permanent basis (for an unspecified period of time) or on a contract basis (for a specified period of time); initial contract period is 24 months; women serve in the military on the same terms as men (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% of GDP (2020 est.) 3.9% of GDP (2019) 3.8% of GDP (2018) 4.2% of GDP (2017) 5.4% of GDP (2016) | 2.2% of GDP (2021 est.) 2.31% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.98% of GDP (2019) 2.02% of GDP (2018) 1.89% of GDP (2017) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 800,000 total active duty troops (350,000 Ground Troops, including about 40,000 Airborne Troops; 150,000 Navy; 150,000 Aerospace Forces; 60,000 Strategic Rocket Forces; 90,000 other uniformed personnel (special operations forces, command and control, support, etc.); est. 200-250,000 Federal National Guard Troops (2020) | approximately 120,000 total active duty personnel (60,000 Army; 7,000 Navy; 17,000 Air Force; 3,500 Special Forces; 25,000 Territorial Defense Forces; 7,500 joint service) (2020) note - in June 2019, the Polish Government approved a plan to increase the size of the military by 50,000 troops over the coming decade |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically-produced weapons systems, although since 2010 Russia has imported limited amounts of military hardware from several countries, including Czechia, France, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and Ukraine; the Russian defense industry is capable of designing, developing, and producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware (2020) | the inventory of the Polish Armed Forces consists of a mix of Soviet-era and more modern Western weapons systems; since 2010, the leading suppliers of armaments to Poland are Finland, Germany, Italy, and the US (2020) |
| Military deployments | est. 3,000-5,000 Armenia; est. 1,500 Belarus; est. 7,000-10,000 Georgia; est. 100-200 Central African Republic; est. 500 Kyrgyzstan; est. 1,500 Moldova; est. 3,000-5,000 Syria; est. 5,000-7,000 Tajikistan; est. 25,000-30,000 Ukraine (includes Crimea) (2020) note(s): since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a truce agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020 as of the Fall of 2020, a Russian Government-backed private military company was assessed to have about 2,000 personnel in Libya supporting Libyan National Army forces; in addition, there were approximately 2,000 Russian-backed Syrian fighters in Libya Russia contributes approximately 8,000 personnel to CSTO's Rapid Reaction Force | 240 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); up to 175 Latvia (NATO); 250 Lebanon (UNIFIL) (June 2021) note: Poland contributes about 2,500 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
