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Ukraine is fighting for survival and Western military and political leaders must drastically change the way they help Ukraine fend off invaders, according to Rob Bauer, chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
At a meeting of top NATO officers, Bauer expressed the opinion that Russian President Vladimir Putin started the war out of fear of democracy.
Senior NATO military officials are expected to draw up plans for Europe’s largest military exercise since the Cold War at a two-day meeting in Brussels. The exercise is planned for the end of the year and is intended to be a renewed demonstration of NATO’s strength.
As the war drags on and U.S. and European Union (EU) military aid to Ukraine is delayed, Bauer called for a “whole-of-society approach” that goes beyond military planning. “We need actors in the public and private sectors to change their mindset from an era where everything was plannable, predictable, controllable and focused on efficiency to an era where anything can happen at any time. An era in which we must expect the unexpected, “Informative meeting,” said Bauer.
“To be fully effective in the future, we need a transformation of NATO combat forces,” he added.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced Monday that his government will send 20,000 troops to take part in NATO’s Steadfast Defender military exercise, many of whom will be deployed to Eastern Europe from February to June.
The UK will also send modern fighter and reconnaissance aircraft as well as warships and submarines.
The Norwegian government announced on Wednesday that it would allocate two billion crowns to increase the production capacity of the defense industry, as a large amount of ammunition is needed. Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram stated that “increasing the capacity of the defense industry is important both for Ukraine and for ensuring our own security.”
Half of the funds will go to the Norwegian-based aerospace and defense group Nammo, which specializes in the production of ammunition, rocket engines and space equipment, Norwegian Prime Minister Jūnas Gārs Stere announced.
Bauer said in Brussels that NATO would continue to support Ukraine in the long term.
“Today is the 693rd day of the war, which Russia considered a three-day war. Ukraine will have our support every day, because the outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world,” he added.
“This war was never about a real security threat to Russia from Ukraine or NATO,” Bauer added. “This war is about Russia being afraid of something far more powerful than any physical weapon on earth – democracy. If the people of Ukraine have democratic rights, the people of Russia will soon crave them too,” says the chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
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