Borell also came to the conclusion that Europe has invested too little in equipment for defense and warfare in recent years. According to him, the war in Ukraine should be a ‘wake-up call’, Hammelburg thinks it will be. ‘Most notable was Germany, which immediately after the outbreak of war announced that it would invest 100 billion in its own defense to reach the 2 per cent of GDP standard. That made quite an impression among the allies, and now you see that discussion everywhere. There has been a turnaround in strategic thinking in Europe.’
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War goals
The British Ministry of Defense reports that Russia will not be able to achieve all war goals. “Several goals are mentioned, the most important of which I think is Kherson,” Hammelburg said. “This is in Ukrainian hands, as well as a number of other cities that the Russians have always said they should occupy. However, the question is whether it will work in the future as well. The Russians are clearly using the coming winter to get better trained troops, more weapons and better supply lines. So the last word hasn’t been said yet on that.”