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The gap in morale between the Russian and Ukrainian troops is absolutely crushing in favour of the Ukrainians, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said Wednesday on a visit to the headquarters of the 51st Vulturii Special Operations Battalion in Targu Mures.
According to him, the Ukrainian army is "much more agile, much more flexible, much more adapted for modern warfare" and managed, after the outbreak of the conflict with Russia in 2014 to become "a modern, Western-type, NATO-type army."
"The armed forces of the Russian Federation are still of a post-Soviet type, with everything that means equipment, command and control, military doctrine and military philosophy, while the Ukrainian armed forces, with our support after 2014, after the invasion and illegal annexation of Crimea, is a modern, Western-type, NATO-type of forces, hence the difference in quality of the way the two sides are conducting war operations. That does not mean that the Russian Federation does not still have important resources, parts that should be of concern to Ukraine and to us, but if we look at the way the two types of military systems work, Ukraine's is much more agile, much more flexible, much more adapted for modern warfare," said Geoana.
He also mentioned the morale of the two combatant forces.
"And there is one more thing that goes beyond the type of weaponry, the type of ammunition, how accurately the artillery of one side or the other side hits. It is the intangible component of morale of the troops and the morale of the population. It's one thing to defend your country and fight for your country, and quite different when you embark on a military adventure in a country where you do not understand why you are sent there. The difference in morale between the Russian and Ukrainian troops is absolutely overwhelming in favour of the Ukrainians. That does not mean that the war is not complicated, that it is not long and that we see political elements that indicate too fast an end to the ongoing war, as we would like," added Geoana.
He gave assurances that the defence alliance he represents will continue to support Ukraine from all points of view.
"We will continue to help them. It is also in our interest and we believe that the bravery and sacrifice of the Ukrainians will receive from us military, financial, economic, moral, and political support, as it is happening now in a faultless manner," said Geoana.
On Wednesday, the NATO senior official met the leadership of the 51st Vulturii Special Operations Battalion Command to discuss the capabilities of the special operations forces. He was shown around stands with weapons, defence equipment and military hardware and attended a special operations event.
