Zelensky calls for 1.5 million-strong army if Ukraine remains outside NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that to defend Ukraine against Russia without NATO support, the country’s military would need to consist of 1.5 million soldiers.
He stated this at a Munich Security Conference, News.Az reports citing local media.
Answering a question about Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, he said that it would be the cheapest option for our country to guarantee security.
According to him, if Ukraine remains outside the bloc, or before joining it, our army should be able to defend the state on its own.
“I’m just telling you the numbers that we understand with all the military. That is, it will be an army of 1.5 million. One and a half million!” Zelensky emphasized.
He justified this number of troops by the number of combat brigades in the Russian army.
“They have 220, and we have 110 combat brigades today. So we need 220,” Zelensky summed up.
Zelenskyy estimated Ukraine’s annual security budget without NATO at $40 billion a year. If the army is increased to 1.5 million, the funding should be about $60 billion.
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