Do people actually care about Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin recently visited Crimea and Mariupol, territories taken from Ukraine in 2014. China’s Xi has visited Putin in Moscow, where the two reaffirmed their roles as strategic partners. China is teasing the idea of sending weapons to Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers are almost out of munitions.
All of these factors are news that hit headlines in the past ten days or so, and just yesterday on March 21, the NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg revealed some harsh data in regards to NATO members’ defense spending. Data that suggests a severe lack of urgency in NATO defense.
Specifically, Stoltenberg stated a mere seven out of thirty NATO allies achieved the target of spending 2% of their domestic GDP on defense every year.
In a NATO summit in Wales in 2014, NATO leaders scrambled in response to the original Ukraine Crisis. At that summit, they agreed that each member would move towards contributing 2% of their domestic GDP on military spending in order to enhance the strength and capabilities of NATO’s joint force. Specifically, 20% of that contribution would be for major equipment and further research and development.
Looking at the conflict in Ukraine, “major equipment” and weapons systems are exactly what are needed in the European theater; think air defense, artillery, armored vehicles, command and control technology.
This aim of 2% spending for members was only met by three countries at the time, with all other members pledging to move towards that goal. The deadline? 2024.
Stoltenberg’s address is all the more warry when we consider that in 2021, eight NATO members met the spending target. It appears as if NATO spending is actually going down since the invasion of Ukraine occurred. Whether this is because of direct contributions to Ukraine, it is not yet clear. Stoltenberg mentioned that members who were projected to meet the 2% did not because their GDP went up before their spending was reallocated.
Regardless, it is still cause for alarm. The United States, for example, has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, and the cost has come at the expense of the US military’s readiness. Ammunition is severely lacking, and the estimated time to fully restock those munitions is years. For many NATO members, they are already behind that curve.
Stoltenberg strongly suggested that members increase their spending at a faster rate. He stated “In a more dangerous world, we need to invest more in defence.”
Regardless of how quickly NATO members react, Stoltenberg’s rhetoric is in the right place. Russia looks to be kinetically engaged with Ukraine for awhile, and the Indo-Pacific is trending towards increased hostility, and growing friction.
It is with all this in mind, with a seeming lack of urgency despite what the media tells us, that maybe people do not actually see the threats before us.
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