The Ukrainian army was in a deep crisis until 2014, which was deliberately supported by the country's political leadership. This was stated in an interview with "Army TV" by Hero of Ukraine, Deputy Commander of the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, Colonel Oleh Grudzevych .
The colonel noted that the state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was very poor when he began his service in 2011. The army was largely sustained by the patriotism and initiative of individual commanders, as the central government attempted to effectively destroy the country's military capability.
One of the biggest illusions of the time concerned the definition of a likely enemy. According to the doctrine in effect since 2007, the likely enemy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was NATO and the West, and the current aggressor, Russia .
"Future officers study the history of military conflicts. And for centuries we have always been at war with Russia. So it was obvious that if a war starts, it will be with the Russians," Grudziewicz emphasized.
However, under the influence of the pro-Russian political leadership of the time, these historical lessons were ignored. And only with the outbreak of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014 did it become clear how critically weakened the Ukrainian Armed Forces were.
