As Ukraine has been showing success on the battlefield in holding back Russian advances and also pursuing its campaign of strikes deep into Russia, the EU is about to start the first disbursements under the Ukraine Support Loan, including for defense needs. At the same time, Russia keeps up its brutal attacks against Ukraine’s civilians, causing suffering and rejecting meaningful peace talks. Ukrinform sat down in Brussels with an acclaimed Belgian defense expert Roger Housen, a former colonel of the Belgian infantry with combat experience gained in the former Yugoslavia, as well as Afghanistan and Central Africa. He was a strategist at the Belgian Ministry of Defense and NATO in the United States.
The conversation also touched upon the perception of Russian hybrid threats in Europe and how both politicians and the population need to understand their urgency and build up resilience and defense capacities.
TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF WAR, INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST DO MORE TO HELP UKRAINE
– You have frequently pointed out that there can be 'no peace without weapons' for Ukraine. Looking at the battlefield today, is the European Union's defense assistance genuinely keeping pace with Russia's war economy, or does the approach still needs structural adjustment?
