 The rest stayed in Crimea.In the early months of the War in Donbass that erupted in 2014 the Armed Forces were widely criticised for their poor equipment and inept leadership, forcing Internal Affairs Ministry forces like the National Guard and the territorial defence battalions to take on the brunt of the fighting in the first months of the war.By February 2018 the Ukrainian armed forces were larger and better equipped, numbering 200,000 active-service military personnel and most of the volunteer soldiers of the territorial defence battalions were integrated into the official Ukrainian army.