Ukraine Has a Resource Far More Valuable Than Minerals
The Ukrainian military could become a truly devoted and grateful military ally for the United States for years to come.
In recent months, much attention has been given to the potential agreement between the United States and Ukraine concerning rare earth minerals, but this often diverts attention from the real and valuable asset Ukraine possesses today: its human capital, and more specifically, its exceptionally powerful army.
As of today, Ukraine ranks sixth in the world by the size of its military. In Europe, the Ukrainian army is the largest in terms of personnel, even greater than the combined forces of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
In 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the military currently consists of 980,000 soldiers, while independent sources claim that the total military personnel in Ukraine’s army is around 2.2 million, with over 900,000 being active.
However, this isn’t just about size. Ukraine is the only non-authoritarian country in the world whose military has extensive, successful experience in employing naval, aerial, and ground forces, along with drones, in large-scale combat against a stronger adversary. Ukraine already has dozens of experienced military units and special forces specializing exclusively in the use of unmanned systems. For example, the overwhelming majority of destroyed Russian tanks (over 3,700 confirmed destroyed between 2022 and 2025) were destroyed by drones. To put this into perspective, this is more than the United States currently has in battle-ready tanks (3,480). Likewise, unmanned naval systems became one of the key tools that allowed Ukrainians to almost completely destroy the Russian Black Sea Fleet, forcing its remnants to retreat to distant Russian ports.
This comes despite Russia’s military capabilities far outnumbering those of Ukraine in most indicators. For example, according to global data and business intelligence platform Statista, Russia’s air fleet numbered nearly 4,300 aircraft, while Ukraine’s Armed Forces possessed 324. Russia’s naval fleet was 4.7 times larger than Ukraine’s. Similarly, in terms of tanks, Russia has a fivefold advantage (5,750 vs. 1,114 for Ukraine). Moreover, Russia is one of the nine countries that possesses nuclear weapons, holding the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear warheads as of early 2024. But none of this has intimidated Ukrainians; if anything, it has only strengthened their resistance through a sense of clear injustice.
Today, numerous military experts note that Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Russian military leadership greatly underestimated the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Unfortunately, the Biden administration did the same. Even The Atlantic, a publication supportive of the Democrats, offers a fair assessment: “Meanwhile, the Ukrainians showed themselves to be far more resilient, adaptable, and willing to fight than the Biden administration had understood. At that point, the U.S. could have capitalized immensely on the Ukrainians’ spirited resistance and on Russian weakness.”
Thus, while the Biden administration has been often criticized by both Ukrainians and allies for slow decisionmaking, President Donald Trump, known for his decisiveness and unrestrained actions, has a real chance to turn the situation around and outplay the Russians. With bold action from the new White House administration to assist Ukrainians in defeating the Russian occupying forces, the Ukrainian military, unmatched in Europe, could become a truly devoted and grateful military ally for the United States for years to come. If in previous years, Ukrainian troops assisted the United States, for example, in Iraq, out of respect, then if the American people help Kyiv achieve the greatest military victory since World War II, that gratitude may become unprecedented.
The United States itself has historical precedents for such decisions. Just as today Ukrainians are fighting for independence against an empire that cannot accept the freedom of a formerly subjugated people, Americans fought against the British Empire to gain independence from 1775 to 1783. In what seemed to be a hopeless war against the most powerful country in the world, the freedom-loving states were supported by France, whose involvement proved decisive in the war and the victory. The famous Battle of the Chesapeake, where the French fleet led by Rear Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse defeated the British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, was critical in Washington’s Siege of Yorktown, forcing Cornwallis to surrender and effectively securing independence for the United States. As we know from later history, the Americans did not remain indebted, and for several centuries maintained gratitude toward the French. They helped in World War I (the involvement of American Expeditionary Forces under General John Pershing in the battles for France) and in the decisive battles of World War II (notably, the Normandy landings led by General Dwight Eisenhower and the subsequent liberation of France from the Nazis).
Such decisions are not made lightly and come at a high cost. Moral challenges of this scale are rare and require immense wisdom, nobility, and courage to challenge inertia and the evil of tyranny. The example of French-American friendship is a demonstration of a devoted alliance based on mutual gratitude that grew into a long-term strategic partnership, strengthening the fate of both peoples and making the world a safer place. Now, we are witnessing a very similar situation unfolding in the heart of Europe, and the American people and their leaders have the opportunity to provide their decisive response in this generational trial of history. To extend a hand of friendship and support or turn away and mind their own business.
Clearly, after the end of Ukraine’s war for independence from Russia, Ukraine will demobilize a significant portion of its soldiers. However, in order to continue deterring the Russians, Ukraine will maintain a large, capable, and modern army. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, with vast experience in modern warfare, will return from the front and seek new employment. They could become a solid foundation for a new European army, replacing U.S. troops, who could return home or be deployed wherever America’s interests demand. But they could also form part of a completely new security component proposed by the United States, relying on Ukrainian allies and considering European interests, thereby strengthening the U.S. position in this part of the world with the most capable and dedicated forces.
About the author: Anton Drobovych
Dr. Anton Drobovych is the head of Human Rights and War Memorialization at the Centre of Kyiv School of Economics, an author of numerous articles on the social and legal aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and a former head of governmental agency Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (2019-2024).
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