There is a good chance that a new Iron Curtain will arise in Europe after the war in Ukraine. “Ukraine has surpassed neutrality,” says defense specialist Peter Wijninga of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague. “I think the world realizes that, even Putin.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shed new light on how a military conflict can play out in 2022. “One of the great things you can deduce from this conflict is that the geopolitical and geostrategic situation can change just like that, and that means that countries they have to be able to respond and grow very quickly,” says Wijninga. ‘And you also need to be able to maintain it for years. It takes completely different business operations to deal with this kind of aggression in the future, and it must be fully prepared for it in peacetime.’
Follow the latest news about the war in Ukraine in our live blog
According to Wijninga, this means, among other things, that stocks no longer have to be stored centrally, but rather close to ready units and that they must be able to react quickly. ‘The entire logistics train must be equipped for this. This means that defense must be reviewed, and this is true for all European countries.’
Weapon systems
The war also clarified a lot about what is needed in terms of how society is organized to successfully endure this kind of protracted conflict. “Ukrainians have been able to adopt an ‘integral government approach’, where all parts of society participate and have transformed themselves into a war society,” says Rob de Wijk, director of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague . Citizens also have a role to play in this. As a civilian in occupied territory you can now share information to benefit the war effort. This is an important lesson that is being learned, and it also has important consequences for our society.’
According to De Wijk, such a system is also being studied in the Baltic countries, Finland and Sweden already have it, it would be equally possible in the Netherlands, and could therefore be really necessary in the future. ‘For example, we don’t have a good answer on how we are going to protect our vital infrastructure at sea. So you have to have a resilient population, in case vital infrastructure fails here as well. And it could happen tomorrow.’
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
