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French experts say Russia far surpasses Europe in land-forces strength

The experts also noted Russia's clear numerical superiority in ground forces, with approximately 950,000 troops compared to Europe's 750,000

PARIS, November 28. /TASS/. Russia now markedly surpasses Europe in the capabilities and overall power of its land forces, Le Figaro wrote, citing a study.

Experts from the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) compared the capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces with those of NATO member countries in Europe and found that European troops are "seriously under-equipped" with military hardware such as artillery systems, shells, strike drones, and anti-aircraft missiles. Another weakness identified for Europe lies in "major infrastructural and regulatory hurdles" that hamper the movement of troops across the continent.

The experts also noted Russia's clear numerical superiority in ground forces, with approximately 950,000 troops compared to Europe's 750,000. According to the IFRI, this gap is further widened by differences in combat readiness and Europe's persistent "political fragmentation."

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously dismissed European politicians' statements about a possible war with Russia as nonsense. Speaking at a general political debate at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia has never had any intention of attacking NATO or the EU.