▲ Protest in Poland against the invasion of Ukraine.Photo Ap
From the Editorial
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, November 23, 2024, p. 17
Fearing that Moscow will take military measures against the Baltic states, Finland or Poland, if kyiv is overwhelmed in the war, European countries redoubled their efforts to prepare for possible aggression and began to build defense systems, anti-tank ditches and traps to war vehicles, in addition to installing bomb bunkers.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has intensified tensions in recent days, with Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using Western artillery and the launch of a new missile developed by Moscow. This panorama reinforced the perception among European nations that defense is not optional, but a critical necessity.
According to an analysis published by the British newspaper The Independentthese nations also considered the possibility of creating minefields, even evaluating the use of antipersonnel mines.
The Polish government invested approximately 2.5 billion euros in a border defense system, which includes the construction of an anti-aircraft mechanism similar to the iron dome developed by Israel and the United States, with the aim of protecting their borders from a possible threat from Moscow.
Poland allocated 4.7 percent of its GDP to defense, equivalent to 37 billion euros. France, for its part, has increased its military spending over the past eight years and is expected to surpass that of the United Kingdom by 2027. The Netherlands, after decades of reducing its military budget, reversed this trend in 2022 and planned to double its investment in defense in the next five years.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the construction of new plants to manufacture ammunition and the strengthening of existing ones. In northern Europe, more than one billion euros were invested in building facilities to produce 155mm artillery shells, used by Ukraine at levels not seen since World War II.
Sweden, Norway and Denmark increased their military budgets by double-digit percentages year after year. Germany, which had drastically reduced its military spending after the Cold warincreased its spending by two-thirds since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2022 marked a Zeitenwende (turning point) for Germany, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who committed an immediate investment of 100 billion euros to remedy the deficiencies in ammunition and equipment.