For: Karen Andersson and Laura Rossi
With Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory at the beginning of 2022, there was an intense disparity in terms of military capabilities and technologies, where the Russians demonstrated a great advantage over their opponents. However, this asymmetry is much more due to the huge Russian investment in the area than to a lack of preparation on the part of the Ukrainians. Due to the shock of the invasion of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine underwent military reform in the following years, devoting much more funds and attention to its war development from then on. According to data from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, there was an increase in the size of the Ukrainian active forces of de 184 thousand officers, in 2015, for 250 one thousand, in 2016.
Despite the intensity of Russian attacks at the beginning of 2022, the world was impressed by the resilience of the disadvantaged Ukrainian troops. According to The Conversation platform, such resistance is thanks to the military reform of 2016, to the robust financial and military aid coming from Western countries and to the strong patriotic sentiment of the Ukrainians, causing many civilians to have volunteered to fight.
Although the Ukrainian forces have shown themselves to be extremely courageous and have been resisting for much longer than anyone imagined., neighboring countries were shaken by the conflict. since the invasion, nearby nations like Sweden and Finland, have been preparing for the possibility of being possible next targets for Russian troops. In this way, the Ukrainian War did not only affect the territories involved, as well as projecting a global impact, in which several countries have reassessed their national priorities.
National security is once again the most important issue among all the others., so that military spending skyrocketed after the invasion of Ukrainian territory. One of the main examples of this effect is Germany. Fears of further Russian advance, added to the traumas caused by the conflicts carried out by the Germans, made the country triple its military investments since February (LEAF, 2022). According to the German Prime Minister, Olaf Scholz, Germany will direct an additional €100 billion towards the country's national security. besides the germans, countless other countries have also raised funds for this purpose., like Belgium and Denmark (OR BALLOON, 2022).
An extremely relevant actor in the context of military security since before the war in Ukraine is NATO. (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It was after Ukraine announced its interest in joining the organization that Russia felt it was increasingly losing its influence in the former Soviet countries., that come closer and closer to the West and North American ideals. Therefore, the organization that was created in 1949 for the defense of western countries against possible aggressions from the former Soviet Union, acts as a military alliance between all its 28 member countries, the vast majority of them located in Europe, with the exception of Canada and the United States only. This military alliance exists from the sum of the troops of the members and each country must invest 2% of its GDP in defense-related spending. Another important point to note about NATO is that the organization acts as an advocate for its members., and will only use military forces if one of its member countries is attacked, and then, everyone will be involved to react militarily.
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the constant threat of Russian advance to some of its member countries, the European Union (EU) began to give more importance to the military security of the continent. At the end of March 2022, the block, represented by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, approved a new security strategy aimed at increasing the bloc's military influence, establishing a rapid reaction force of up to 5.000 soldiers in cases of crisis and urgency. The plan, which became known as the Strategic Compass, was unveiled last year following the chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan following the fall of the capital, obscene, to the Taliban, in August 2021. And in this year of 2022, with the shares of Russia, the bloc hardened and pressured parliament for the plan to be approved. It is important to note that even with the outbreak of war, the EU has no intention of being a bloc with military acts, but rather to act as a complement to the actions of the main western military alliance, of the question.
Since 2017, the bloc has been concerned about the security of Europe, this can be exemplified by the creation in the same year of the European Common Defense Fund, which is linked to the implementation of the EU's Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy focused on security and defense issues. The fund contributed to the implementation of cooperation with NATO, signed in Warsaw in July 2016. Other actions were taken from the creation of this defense fund, like the period of 2021-2027, where the Commission proposes to increase the EU's strategic autonomy, strengthen the ability to protect its citizens and strengthen Europe's position globally.
Of the €13 million from the European Defense Fund, €4.1 million is earmarked for project financing (from cybersecurity to industries). In addition to the research phase of these projects, €8.9 million will be made available to complement Member States' investments, co-funding prototype development expenses and subsequent certification and testing activities. The Fund will place the EU among the four largest investors in defense research and technology in Europe and will serve as a catalyst for an innovative and competitive industrial and scientific base.. For the first time, member states share military expenditures, in order to better identify risks, ensuring a good result and benefiting from economies of scale.
To complete, it is known that the main focus of the European Union is the integration (mainly economic) among its member states. With the war in Ukraine, the urgency of military security for the protection of the European continent was perceived., that saw itself once again as the stage of a war. Since then, the countries (especially those who are part of NATO) have been preparing economically and militarily in the face of the Russian threat. as an organization, the EU begins to adopt a policy that focuses on security and defense from the end of the 1990s 1990, and beginning of the years 2000, when the PESC surge (Common Foreign and Security Policy) with the aim of preserving the peace, strengthen international security, promote international cooperation, develop and consolidate democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In 2004 the European Defense Agency emerges (AED), supporting European defense cooperation projects, provides a space for dialogue for European defense ministries and helps their 26 members to develop their respective military resources. The agency promotes collaboration, launches new initiatives and proposes solutions to improve defense capabilities. Besides that, helps interested countries develop joint defense capabilities. It is evident that after the outbreak of the war, the bloc and the continent as a whole started to adopt new protection measures, investments and attention on the developments and advances of Russia on Europe, including relying on cooperation with NATO.
References
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VAZQUEZ, Rafael. “What is NATO and which countries are part of the organization”. Economic value, 2022. Available in: https://valor.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2022/02/25/o-que-e-a-otan-e-quais-sao-os-paises-que-fazem-parte-da-organizacao.ghtml
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GIELOW, Igor. “War in Ukraine causes Germany to triple military budget and break tradition”. Newspaper, 2022. Available in: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mundo/2022/02/guerra-na-ucrania-faz-alemanha-triplicar-orcamento-militar-e-romper-tradicao.shtml
“War in Ukraine raised European military spending by 2021, says research”. Or Balloon, 2022. Available in: https://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/guerra-na-ucrania-elevou-gastos-militares-da-europa-em-2021-diz-pesquisa-25488464
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