Russia is considered one of the major military powers in the world. However, many countries, especially in Europe, see Russia as a threat. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought the prospect of war between NATO and Russia even closer. But, with Russia’s enormous military strength, is there even a country, or group of countries, that could win a war against it?
The United States and China both have armies powerful enough to defeat Russia. The combined military strength of NATO is also significantly more than Russia’s, meaning it would likely win a war against it.
So, that’s an overview. But let’s look at the data and get a clearer picture of which countries could actually defeat Russia in a war…
Is There A Country That Could Win A War Against Russia?
The first step in answering the question ‘is there a country in the world that could defeat Russia’ is to look at the countries in the world with the most powerful armies. Is there a single country with a military strong enough to win a war against Russia?
America and China are probably the only countries in the world that could defeat Russia in a war. Both have larger armed forces than Russia, as well as advanced military technologies. The US and China are both nuclear powers which would help them win a war against Russia.
…but that’s just an overview. What about other major military powers? How would they likely fare in a conflict against Russia?
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| Russia | 1,015.000 | 2,000,000 | 1,200 | 950 | 352 |
| China | 2,185,000 | 1,170,000 | 5,650 | 1,747+ | 355 |
| United States | 1,388,100 | 844,050 | 6,209 | 2,628 | 490 |
| India | 1,455,550 | 1,155,000 | 4,732 | 687 | 150 |
| Pakistan | 654,000 | 550,000 | 2,468 | 422 | 17 |
| North Korea | 1,280,000 | 600,000 | 3,500 | 537 | 630 |
| Vietnam | 482,000 | 5,000,000 | 1,379 | 80 | 65 |
| Brazil | 366,500 | 1,340,000 | 296 | 214 | 18 |
All data from Wikipedia
The United States would likely win a war against Russia. With nearly 300,000 more troops and one thousand more combat aircraft, the US would probably defeat Russia if it fully committed it’s military forces. The US and Russia have around the same number of nuclear weapons, which may in the end determine a conflict between them.
China could defeat Russia in a major conflict. With over one million more troops and thousands more combat aircraft, China’s armed forces are significantly more powerful than Russia’s. However, Russia has more nuclear weapons than China, which may affect the outcome of a war between them.
It is not clear who would win a war against India and Russia. India has a larger army than Russia, with almost 400,000 more troops. However, Russia has almost a third more combat aircraft than India. Both are nuclear powers, but Russia has significantly more warheads than India.
Russia would win a war against Pakistan. With almost half a million more soldiers and twice as many combat aircraft, Russia’s military is much more power. The Russian Navy is also much larger than Pakistan’s, meaning a war between them would very likely be a Russian victory.
Russia would likely defeat North Korea in a war. Although North Korea has as military of almost equal size to Russia’s, it lacks advanced technology. Russia’s modern military would almost certainly defeat the outdated North Korean armed forces.
Vietnam would be unlikely to win a conventional war against Russia. With a much smaller armed forces, Vietnam could only defeat Russia by reverting to guerrilla tactics. Its military is not strong enough to win against Russia in large-scale engagements.
Brazil’s military is about one third the size of Russia’s. It would be almost impossible for Brazil to win a war against Russia. Brazil also lacks the naval power needed to project it’s forces abroad, where-as Russia’s navy is significantly stronger by comparison.
Is There a Country In Europe That Could Defeat Russia?
So, we’ve assessed Russia’s military strength against other major powers and determined which ones could likely win a war against it. However, in many ways this is unrealistic. Most of these countries are never going to fight a war against Russia. A more real question is whether Europe has a country strong enough to defeat Russia?
No country in Europe could win a war against Russia alone. Russia’s armed forces are five to ten times larger than any European countries. An alliance of multiple European countries could defeat Russia, but it would likely also need assistance from the United States.
With that said, let’s take a look at some of the more powerful European nations and see how they compare to Russia’s military strength…
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| Russia | 1,015,000 | 2,000,000 | 1,200 | 950 | 352 |
| UK | 148,500 | 78,600 | 227 | 225 | 37 |
| France | 203,250 | 41,050 | 222 | 333 | 39 |
| Germany | 183,500 | 30,050 | 323 | 236 | 8 |
| Poland | 114,050 | 0 | 808 | 94 | 11 |
| Ukraine | 209,000 | 900,000 | 2,123 | 125 | 8 |
| Romania | 69,300 | 50,000 | 377 | 60 | 7 |
| Italy | 165,500 | 18,300 | 200 | 241 | 29 |
| Spain | 120,350 | 15,150 | 327 | 188 | 16 |
| Greece | 142,700 | 221,350 | 1228 | 231 | 29 |
| Finland | 23,800 | 216,000 | 200 | 107 | 25 |
| Sweden | 29,750 | 0 | 120 | 96 | 10 |
| Norway | 23,250 | 40,000 | 52 | 68 | 8 |
All data from Wikipedia
As we can see, there is no single country in Europe that is strong enough to defeat Russia.
In western Europe, neither the UK, France nor Germany have armies large enough to defeat Russia alone. Even combined their armed forces are not larger than Russia’s.
The biggest military power in southern Europe are Spain, Italy and Greece. None have the strength to win a war against Russia alone.
In Scandinavia, neither Finland, Sweden nor Norway have armies large enough to win a war against Russia.
In eastern Europe, Ukraine has by far the largest military. However, compared to Russia it’s military is only around one fifth the size. Poland and Romania are the next two largest military powers in eastern Europe – neither could win a war against Russia on their own.
Is There A Group Of Countries That Would Win A War Against Russia?
As we’ve seen, there are only a few countries in the world with militaries strong enough to win a war against Russia. Probably only the United States and China are powerful enough to be sure of a victory. No country in Europe could win a war against Russia alone. However, again these questions are not necessarily realistic… because countries often fight wars together. So, is there a group of countries that could take Russia on in a war, and win?
NATO has a military force strong enough to defeat Russia. With a combined army over three times the size, and six times the number of combat aircraft, NATO would very likely defeat Russia in a war.
…let’s take that a bit further though and see what other groups of countries might be stronger than Russia.
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| Russia | 1,015.000 | 2,000,000 | 1,200 | 950 | 352 |
| NATO | 3,261,760 | 2,106,850 | 14,971 | 6,071 | 503 |
| Europe | 1,855,810 | 2,687,530 | 7,711 | 2,554 | 244 |
| Latin America | 1,414,540 | 2,110,070 | 1,108 | 676 | 71 |
| Asia | 11,158,380 | 15,738,700 | 40,874 | 8,544 | 909 |
| Africa | 2,395,610 | 1,007,050 | 9,171 | 1,337 | 67 |
All data from Wikipedia
NATO is probably one of the only groups of countries powerful enough to defeat Russia in a war. In the real world, NATO is also almost the only group of countries likely to fight a war against Russia, and even then… it’s very unlikely.
With that said though, let’s look at other groups of countries and compare their military strengths to Russia’s.
An army made up of every country in Europe would be large enough to win a war against Russia. However, it almost impossible such an army would be assembled. It would need to include countries such as Belarus, that are Russian allies. Also, many countries in Europe would not fight a war against Russia, seeing it as not in their strategic interests.
A combined military force made up of every country in Latin America would be larger than Russia’s armed forces. However, as Russia is a major nuclear power and Latin America lacks a nuclear armed country there is no way Russia could be totally defeated.
If every country in Asia joined forces, they could easily win a war against Russia. As we’ve discussed, China alone probably has a military strong enough to defeat Russia. If you add the armed forces of every other country in Asia as well, it is almost certain that Russia would lose a war against them.
Although an army made-up of every country in Africa would be twice as large as Russia’s, it is almost certain Russia would defeat it. Russia’s military has advanced technology that most African countries lack. It is also a nuclear power and no country in Africa has nuclear weapons to match it.
Why Would Russia Be Hard To Defeat In A War?
Russia has not been defeated in a war for over a hundred years. Russia today is seen as a major military power. As we’ve seen, few countries have the military strength to win a war against Russia. However, that is only part of picture. There are actually a number of reasons why Russia would be hard to win a war against. These include:
- Military strength
- Enormous country
- Winter climate
- Large population
- Domestic arms industry
Let’s expand on these a bit…
Military Strength
As we’ve discussed, Russia has an enormous and powerful military. The size of the Russian armed forces makes it hard to defeat in a war.
Enormous Country
Russia is the largest country in the world. It is 6.6 million square miles. Conquering a country this size is essentially impossible. The huge size of Russia as a country is a major reason why it would be very hard to win a war against.
Winter Climate
The freezing cold of Russia’s winters are notorious. As history as proven, armies that try to conquer Russia have been devastated by its winters. Hitler, and Napoleon before him, found that his army could simply not withstand the sub-zero temperatures of the Russian winter. In contrast, Russia’s army is well equipped and trained to fight in the freezing winter, making it an incredible difficult army to defeat.
Large Population
Russia has a huge population. With 144 million people, it is the ninth most populous country in the world. Winning a war against a country with a population this large is very difficult, as they have enormous numbers of people to call-upon in times of war.
Domestic Arms Industry
A final reason why Russia would be hard to defeat in a war is because of its sizable domestic arms industry. Russia is one of the world leaders in manufacturing and developing weapons and military technology. This means it does not rely on other countries to supply its armed forces. This fact alone makes winning a war against Russia difficult.