Aleksei Arestovich* — a former adviser to Zelensky’s office who is designated in Russia as a terrorist and extremist — disputed a widespread belief in Ukraine that the AFU has a numerical advantage over the Russian Armed Forces.

The discussion began after one of his channel’s subscribers asked why the AFU, supposedly holding an edge in manpower and weapons, keeps retreating. Arestovich* reacted with clear surprise and said Ukraine has no such advantage.

According to him, the weapons ratio is roughly one to four against Ukraine. He added that the same pattern applies to artillery systems, armored vehicles, aviation, and other categories of equipment, where the average gap, in his assessment, is also around fourfold.

Speaking about troop numbers, Arestovich* said that on Ukraine’s side there are, by his estimate, no more than 250,000 to 300,000 personnel on the front line, while Russia has about 700,000. He said this is why the AFU is retreating.

He also claimed that the figure of one million people in Ukraine’s army exists largely on paper. As one example, Arestovich* cited the number of «SZCh» deserters, estimating it at 300,000 to 400,000.

*Aleksei Arestovich is designated in Russia as a terrorist and extremist.