Dwarfed by Russian Might, Ukraine Plans New Force

Some 40,000 volunteers have come forward to join a proposed new National Guard, Ukraine's new pro-Western authorities say, a tentative first step towards overhauling a military outgunned and outmanned by Russia. With Ukraine's Crimea peninsula firmly in the grip of Russian forces, parliament on Thursday considers a bill to create a 33,000-strong force. Initiated by Acting President Oleksander Turchinov, who this week outlined the sorry state of the armed forces, the bill tasks...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - mercredi 12 mars 2014