Commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade Colonel Andrii Biletskyi has suggested that European nations finance maintaining half of Ukraine’s total Defense Forces needed to deter Russian aggression, according to Army TV.
On 15 January 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian army currently consists of 880,000 military personnel, including 500,000 well-trained soldiers, reports Espreso.
Biletskyi has cited an example of Britain, which, according to his sources, estimated that £2 billion covers the costs of maintaining a 10,000-strong contingent in Ukraine. He has noted that a significant portion of this funding is allocated to high salaries, social benefits, and insurance, rather than direct military needs.
“Wouldn’t it be simpler to convince the EU to create a 10-year fund to finance a 250,000- 300,000-strong Ukrainian force? Ukraine could finance 200,000-250,000 soldiers itself—just like before the war—while the EU could cover an additional 250,000 troops. This fund would ensure automatic financial support for at least a decade,” Biletskyi has proposed.
The commander has argued that such a plan would provide Europe with a secure eastern border while also eliminating political risks associated with deploying Western troops to Ukraine, such as potential casualties that could negatively impact political ratings in the West.
“It benefits them—finances instead of soldiers—and it benefits us,” he has emphasized.
He has also pointed out that while European militaries possess strong command and organizational structures, they lack the combat experience and manpower needed to counter Russia’s army effectively. Even Britain, he has noted, plans to maintain a troop presence of no more than 10,000 in Ukraine.
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