Eastern Europe is still a hotbed for military operations as drone strikes have killed at least four people in Kharkiv within the last few days. This and other recent events in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict have prompted the Kremlin to note that relations between NATO and Russia have reached a level of “direct confrontation.” As geopolitical tensions within this region and the rest of the world are on the rise, more countries are reevaluating their military standing in the world. (The rise of BRICS economies beyond the sway of the U.S. and Europe.)
Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at Eastern Europe and the military powers within the region. To determine the countries with the strongest military might in Eastern Europe, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We included supplemental information regarding active military personnel, military aircraft, vehicles, and naval power as well. We included supplemental information regarding active military personnel, military aircraft, vehicles, and naval power as well.
Although Russia is considered the strongest military power within the region, a few other nations have direct ties to the NATO Alliance, which Russia appears to be brushing up against in its ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Poland is easily home to one of the strongest militaries in Eastern Europe with a sizable standing army and air force. Active Polish military personnel totals come in at roughly 600,000 while the country has over 460 military aircraft. (These are the NATO countries with the most combat aircraft.)
It should be noted that if any of the Russia-Ukraine conflict should spill over into other NATO nations within the region it could trigger Article 5 of the treaty resulting in NATO officially entering the conflict against Russia.
Here is a look at the strongest militaries in Eastern Europe:
11. Moldova
Source: Oregon National Guard from Salem, Oregon, United States, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 4.2311
- Active military personnel: 77,500
- Total military aircraft: 3
- Total military vehicles: 450
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
10. Montenegro
Source: CatEyePerspective / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 2.9109
- Active military personnel: 7,850
- Total military aircraft: 11
- Total military vehicles: 662
- Total navy ships and submarines: 13
9. Slovakia
Source: 39955793@N07 / Flickr
- Military strength score: 1.1891
- Active military personnel: 19,500
- Total military aircraft: 37
- Total military vehicles: 2,048
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
8. Belarus
Source: peer_gynt / Flickr
- Military strength score: 1.0901
- Active military personnel: 263,000
- Total military aircraft: 183
- Total military vehicles: 6,700
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
7. Bulgaria
Source: oregonmildep / Flickr
- Military strength score: 1.0132
- Active military personnel: 40,000
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total military vehicles: 7,420
- Total navy ships and submarines: 40
6. Hungary
Source: Jozsef Soos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.8478
- Active military personnel: 76,600
- Total military aircraft: 62
- Total military vehicles: 7,797
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
5. Romania
Source: 2022 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.7712
- Active military personnel: 151,300
- Total military aircraft: 131
- Total military vehicles: 9,990
- Total navy ships and submarines: 20
4. Czechia
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.7706
- Active military personnel: 32,200
- Total military aircraft: 88
- Total military vehicles: 6,757
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
3. Poland
Source: Kamila Kozioå‚ (Koziolkamila) / iStock via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.2917
- Active military personnel: 602,100
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Total military vehicles: 13,956
- Total navy ships and submarines: 45
2. Ukraine
Source: guvendemir / E+ via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.2598
- Active military personnel: 2,200,000
- Total military aircraft: 321
- Total military vehicles: 22,110
- Total navy ships and submarines: 104
1. Russia
Source: Laski Collection / Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.0702
- Active military personnel: 3,570,000
- Total military aircraft: 4,255
- Total military vehicles: 161,382
- Total navy ships and submarines: 781
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