Ten 'breakthroughs' of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that surprised the world

The Ukrainian Armed Forces, as the core of the defense forces and the resistance of the Ukrainian nation, surprised the world many times for almost 300 days. According to influential Western media outlets, Russia's direct military expenses in the nine months since the start of its war against Ukraine amounted to about $82 billion, and in the fall of 2022, their cost will double to at least $10 billion per month.

At the request of Ukrinform, experts with the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies compiled their ranking of the achievements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the war. This is evidence of changes in the Armed Forces themselves. And this is also evidence that it is the Ukrainian Armed Forces who are creating a new history of Ukraine and Europe today.

Photo: The New York Times

Top ten amazing facts about the Ukrainian Armed Forces

No. 10. The Ukrainian Armed Forces not only withstood the first days of an all-out war, but also preserved combat aviation. Western special services gave Ukraine from 72 hours to three weeks of resistance. But after nine months of a global war, the forces of Putin's invaders are retreating. Despite the presence of a large number of missiles, the Kremlin's military does not have air superiority. And this is a true miracle.

Photo: The New York Times

No. 9. Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces mastered a huge number of NATO-standard weapons in an extremely short period of time. It started back in March - April when they learned to use NATO's air defense systems, armored vehicles and artillery. And now, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are convincingly proving that handling such Western systems as F-16 aircraft or ATACMS missiles will not cause technical delays.

Photo: AA

No. 8. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have become an army of a non-NATO country that has the world's largest inventory of NATO-standard weapons. Indeed, the Ukrainian Armed Forces today have weapons and equipment even from such distant countries as Australia or Japan. And the Ukrainian army is now interoperable with any country of the military alliance.

No. 7. The Armed Forces created the first situation in the history of wars when, with the help of a large number of tactical weapons, the enemy's strategic goals have been changed. The mass use of "small arms" like ATGMs, MANPADS, grenade launchers and small has led to the mass destruction of equipment and manpower of the occupiers. And then, after the escape of Russians from the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, on March 25, Putin announced through the mouth of his general that the goals of the war ("special operation") were to "liberate" the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

No. 6. The Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully conducted a unique military operation to destroy the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. At the same time, the ship was sunk with the help of domestically produced cruise missiles - coastal missile systems developed by the Luch Design Office. This was the first case of the destruction of a flagship since the Second World War and the first case of the destruction of a missile cruiser.

No. 5. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have proven in practice that high-tech weapons cancel the tangible advantage in the number of weapons of the previous generation. With more accurate artillery ammunition and their greater range, the Ukrainian Armed Forces forced the enemy to retreat and leave positions even before conducting an offensive operation. This is an extraordinary experience of modern warfare, which shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actually waging a new generation war.

No. 4. Over the nine months of the war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully conducted not only a defensive operation, but also a number of offensive operations that will be included in the new military textbooks. The world was impressed by a sudden operation in the Kharkiv region, the liberation of Kherson, the destruction of military bases in temporarily occupied Crimea, and the operation to drive Russian forces off the Zmiinyi (Snake) Island. They caused panic in the enemy camp and a feeling of distrust in their own army.

Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

No. 3. The Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted the world's first large-scale operation in the form of an attack by a swarm of drone boats on powerful and expensive warships. This is the practical use of "mosquito strategies" that were discussed by Ukrainain experts, in particular, specialists of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, even before the large-scale invasion of Ukraine began. The issue concerns an attack by kamikaze drone boats against large ships "in the most protected place" of any fleet - its own bay. On October 29, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Russian ships in occupied Sevastopol using such weapons. This is a powerful psychological blow to the Kremlin, which indicates the dominance of relatively cheap, but modern, advanced technologies.

Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

No. 2. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have shown themselves to be the most creative modern army in the world. Some actions may seem unique. For example, Ukrainian Armed Forces specialists managed to adapt American AGM-88 HARM high-speed anti-radar missiles with a range of more than 100 km to domestic fighter aircraft. In addition, in the hands of the Ukrainian army, civilian copters and drones have become a powerful element of asymmetric war with the enemy, allowing to launch attacks far beyond the capabilities of existing weapons, in particular, on the territory of occupied Crimea. In order to "reach" the enemy on Smiinyi Island, some 50 km away from the Ukrainian coast, the Ukrainian military managed to place the French CAESEAR self-propelled guns on a barge, having turned the artillery systems into a "floating battery." The ingenuity of Ukrainian soldiers made it possible to create elements of a digital battlefield when a Bayraktar TB2 drone operator was hundreds of kilometers away from a Ukrainian Bohdana self-propelled howitzer, which, under his guidance, was destroying the positions of the Russian army on Zmiinyi Island.

Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

No. 1. After nine months of the Kremlin's global, unjustified war against Ukraine, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have become one of the most powerful armies in the region. They boldly and riskily launched and are confidently leading an offensive against the invading army, which was considered "the world's second." Or, in other words, it is the Ukrainian Armed Forces that now allow politicians to talk about the Ukrainian terms of negotiations and ending the war.

Valentyn Badrak, director of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies