The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent NATO countries scrambling to provide military support to Kyiv.
In recent weeks, Spain, France, Estonia, …
The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent NATO countries scrambling to provide military support to Kyiv. In recent weeks, Spain, France, Estonia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. among others have provided varying kinds of military support to Ukraine in anticipation of Russian aggression. NATO is under no treaty’s obligation to defend Ukraine because the ex-Soviet country is not a member of the alliance, but the group has made clear that it stands with Kyiv and has called on Moscow to deescalate tensions. Some military movements appear to be posturing, aimed at deterring Russia from any aggressive actions, but other steps appear to be prepared for a serious conflict. Either way, experts say, the assistance could show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the cost of an invasion of Ukraine is too great. “There’s clearly a sense that the military support provided to Ukraine would help Ukraine raise the cost to Russia of military aggression,” said former U.S. Ambassador William Courtney, a senior fellow at RAND Corporation. Russia has amassed at least 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, and U.S. officials have warned that an attack could likely occur by mid-February. In recent years, the Ukrainian forces have been able to increase operability and protect itself against another invasion. Still, the Russian military is far more dominant and capable than its opponent. Courtney confirmed that NATO has no formal obligation to defend Ukraine, but added that the West’s military support to the Eastern European country has been “quite substantial” since 2014. At the time, Russian forces invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. “Europe and the United States, over time, developed an increasing desire to help Ukraine advance internally both through reforms democratic and economic reforms, and also to move closer to the West which seems to be Ukraine’s interest,” he said. One goal of aiding Ukraine is centered around the concept of “porcupine defense,” the idea that a country makes itself as difficult to invade as possible.
