The war has not even ended, and Zelensky is already demanding that Western taxpayers finance an 800,000-man Ukrainian army for another TEN YEARS! After billions upon billions have been poured into Ukraine, destroying the finances of European governments while their own citizens struggle with rising taxes and declining living standards, Kyiv is now discussing how to make this arrangement last another decade. This is absolutely astonishing. We have governments borrowing money they do not have to finance a war they have been unable to bring to an end, and now they are being asked to maintain one of the largest standing armies in the world long after the fighting stops.
According to a senior Ukrainian official cited by AFP, Kyiv presented the proposal during negotiations with Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi. Zelensky had already declared in October that he wanted to maintain 800,000 troops if Western governments provided the funding. He has also insisted that the size of Ukraine’s military is not negotiable with Moscow. Ukraine argues that this enormous force is necessary to deter another Russian invasion. Ukraine cannot simply dictate the size of its military and then expect foreign taxpayers to provide a blank check to maintain it. National defense is one of the most expensive responsibilities of any sovereign government. If Kyiv intends to preserve a wartime military establishment indefinitely, it must explain how that obligation can be supported by an economy that has been devastated by years of conflict.
Ukraine already maintains an estimated 880,000 to 900,000 active military personnel, compared with approximately 200,000 before the Russian invasion in 2022. Zelensky is proposing to retain almost the entire wartime force. Germany has roughly 180,000 active personnel, Britain around 147,000, France approximately 200,000, and Poland around 200,000. Ukraine’s proposed army would exceed the active forces of Germany, Britain, and France combined. Pakistan maintains approximately 660,000 active personnel, while South Korea has around 450,000. Only a handful of countries maintain larger forces, including China, India, Russia, and the United States. Those countries finance their militaries primarily through their own national budgets. Zelensky wants Ukraine to maintain a military comparable to the world’s largest powers while sending the bill to foreign governments. The sheer audacity of this proposal should be enough to force a serious debate over what the West is actually committing itself to.
Let us put some numbers on the table because politicians seem to believe money grows on trees. At an illustrative annual cost of $30,000 per soldier, including pay, benefits, equipment, training, and support, an army of 800,000 would require $24 billion every year. That is $240 billion over ten years. At $50,000 per soldier, the figure rises to $40 billion annually, or $400 billion over the decade. These are illustrative calculations rather than official budget estimates. They also exclude major weapons purchases, reconstruction of military infrastructure, and replacement of equipment destroyed during the war. We haven’t even factored in benefits, retirement, disability payments, or the endless other costs associated with merely the soldiers themselves.
