Original subtitles

The Armed Forces of Ukraine by February 24, 2022 and the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the

end of 2022 are two completely different armies.

It's not even about the new Western weapons, although more will be said about them, but

about how the internal backbone of the Ukrainian army has changed, in its understanding of

its purpose and connection with the entire nation.

This state is usually called a people's army - or, as they say in Israel: "The people form

the army, and the army forms the people".

Before the full-scale invasion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they were in a state of

limited war with Russia in eastern Ukraine for eight years.

During these eight years of limited war, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian defenders have gone

through the front line or at least through military service.

This created a massive reserve of people with combat experience, motivation, understanding

and readiness for the fact that a limited war will grow into something bigger and more

significant.

These people became the main backbone of the mobilization declared in February of the outgoing

year, and today all the Armed Forces of Ukraine already number just under a million people.

This is the first and most important difference.

If the Armed Forces of Ukraine were once a typical army of our time, id est simply a

state's power tool, and numbered only a few hundred thousand employees, then today it

is a large people's army at the national level.

Add to this another million-strong national volunteer movement - you get the scales of

a truly military organization, unseen in Europe since World War II.

The second important difference is the understanding of their purpose.

If the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the "before February 24" edition could not boast of any

more serious mission than containing the enemy in eastern Ukraine, today there is a clear

list of goals: the protection of Ukrainian citizens, the defeat of the Russian Armed

Forces and the return of Ukraine to the 1991 borders.

Indeed, the Ukrainian army has become a key component of the country's security system,

and its main mission is the guarantor of the protection of the sovereignty of the Ukrainian

state and the people living in that state.

After these two factors - the human (and the human is the most important in the army) and

understanding the mission of this person - it is now possible to mention the AFU's weaponry.

Before Russia's full-scale invasion, the AFU typically relied on Soviet-made equipment.

Yes, there were some Humvee and Western small arms, but these were just a drop in the sea

of Soviet legacy.

Even Ukrainian developments were based on Soviet past, for example the superbly performing

"Stuhna-P" anti-tank guided missile.

However, in 2023, the AFU welcomed a wide range of not just Western models of weaponry,

but also their newest models.

The Western approach to creating weapons is fundamentally different from the Soviet (and

today's Russian) approach.

It is a focus on quality, the human factor (military ergonomics, for example), the accuracy

of systems, and much more.

Many tasks that are set for modern armies cannot be realized with old Soviet weapons.

At the same time, the AFU's new Western weapons are not just a "fig leaf" to cover up the

lack of personnel and capabilities.

These are new, high-quality weapons that significantly increase the AFU's combat capabilities.

For example, the adoption of the Javelin anti-tank missile system has allowed the AFU to considerably

increase its combat capabilities against enemy armored vehicles.

Overall, the AFU's transition to Western weapons is a very important factor in its progress.

It is not just about "window dressing", but rather a real increase in the AFU's combat

capabilities and effectiveness.

This is the third factor of the AFU cardinal progressive growth this year.

Western-made equipment is not just individual units, but rather a mass, high-quality reinforcement

of the Ukrainian army.

Just take all the various armored vehicles (of all types and models), more than 2,000

of them have already been handed over.

This is a colossal assistance.

And yet, hundreds more units of artillery, anti-aircraft systems (the best in their class),

and other types of equipment - including small arms - have also been provided.

The Ukrainian army has regained itself in three dimensions - the dimension of the human,

the mission, and the quality of the weaponry.

Yes, there are still many problems.

The further transition to Western tanks and aircraft is also difficult.

It is a thorny path, but the main thing is that the AFU is already on this path, and

there is no way back - only forward - to multiply all its capacities, capabilities and efficiency.