As Nato meets in Washington on Tuesday (9 July) for a three-day summit, with Ukraine one of the topics at the top of the agenda, officials have already started preparing — and according to the Wall Street Journal, Nato will establish a greater presence in Ukraine.
The organisation will “station a senior civilian official in Kyiv,” where this individual will regularly work with Ukrainian officials. Nato will also establish a programme to manage current and future military assistance to Ukraine. The effort will be based in Germany.
The new initiative, however, will not be referred to as a “mission” as Nato member Germany stated it wants to “avoid the implication that it and Nato were at war with Russia.”
Aside from this programme, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has also requested Nato members to pledge “a minimum of €40bn ($43.37bn) annually to fund [defence] aid to Ukraine.” The objective is to establish a long-term plan for future aid to Ukraine.
These two efforts signal that Nato is fully committed to helping Ukraine, and that the organisation will continue to do what it takes to help this Eastern European state in its time of need. Aside from sending various forms of assistance, several Nato members have also stated they will send military instructors to Ukraine.
According to French president Emmanuel Macron, several Nato member countries have agreed to send military trainers. France, Poland, and the Baltic states have also stated that they are prepared to send troops to help Ukraine. These countries have argued that the West is too worried about aggravating Russia, and that the West instead should do everything it can to help Ukraine.
Several countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, quickly dismissed France’s proposal.
They argued that sending troops to Ukraine would further aggravate Russia, and that it would lead to a larger conflict.
These concerns, however, ignore the larger picture. Russia’s war has already escalated.
As Western organisations and institutions consume themselves with Russia’s behavior, the Russian Federation continues to escalate its war. For example, the Russians recently sprung an attack on Kharkiv province, an event that forced thousands of Ukrainians to flee their homes. Ahead of the Nato summit, the Russians also launched a missile strike on Ukrainian civilians in Dnipro and Kyiv.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, several Western media outlets were sceptical of Ukraine’s success. “Ukraine probably cannot hold off Russia forever,” one international headline read at the time. Given this mentality, several countries were hesitant to provide defence assistance to Ukraine.
Despite these pessimistic views, Ukraine defended itself from the Russian onslaught. By April 2022, the Ukrainians successfully defended their capital. They also forced the Russians out of northern and central Ukraine.
Then, by 2023, Ukraine reclaimed more than half of the Russian-occupied territory in southern and eastern Ukraine. In addition, the Ukrainians destroyed two-thirds of Russia’s pre-invasion tank force, and they destroyed one-third of Russia’s entire Black Sea Fleet.
Despite these successes, several Western countries have continued to enforce their self-imposed restrictions on defense aid to Ukraine. These barriers, in addition to recently delayed European and American aid, allowed the Russians to fortify their positions in southern and eastern Ukraine.
The Russians also purchased defense equipment and hardware from the North Koreans and Iranians. This allowed them to bolster their defense forces. It also allowed the Russians to conduct multiple airstrikes on civilian targets across Ukraine. These bombardments have killed many Ukrainians, and it has led to the destruction of several Ukrainian cities and villages.
Delayed Western response during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and stalled assistance to Ukraine in late 2023 and early 2024 are partially to blame for Russia’s continued war. These hold-ups allowed Russia to regroup its forces, and claim and occupy additional territory in southern and eastern Ukraine.
It is important to note that many countries around the world continue to stand with Ukraine. They are also concerned that Russia’s war will continue without a foreseeable end. But there is still hesitancy to supply Ukraine with the weaponry it needs to defeat Russia and end the war.
Hoping for a Ukrainian victory while delaying future assistance and imposing barriers to aid cannot coexist. Members of the international community must realize that such a strategy will not result in a short conflict. Instead, if they continue to behave in this manner, then they must prepare themselves for a prolonged war.
Therefore, if world leaders genuinely want to do whatever it takes to help Ukraine win the war, then they should lift the restrictions on defence assistance to Ukraine so that this country can achieve victory.
Otherwise, their hesitation and fear of escalation will only lead to the additional loss of Ukrainian life. It will also increase the probability of sending advisors and soldiers from Nato member countries to Ukraine, and this could lead to the additional loss of life. Dragging Nato into Russia’s war will only lead to a deadlier outcome, and no one will want this.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.