Central Europe’s Role in the Evolving Russia-Ukraine War

Central Europe and the West have been supporting Kyiv on an ad hoc basis. In the coming months, it will be important that Europe and NATO begin addressing the Russia-Ukraine war from a more long-term perspective to gain a strategic advantage.

Russian systematic mass-scale targeting of infrastructure and the civilian population is an important milestone of change in the Kremlin’s military strategy against Ukraine. The indirect approach of destroying sources of national power rather than the direct approach of destroying an enemy’s armed forces suggests that Russia’s theory of victory is based on the strategic effect of attrition through a long war. The aim of the barbaric airstrikes campaign is nothing less than crippling Ukraine’s continuity of government, critical services and the war effort.

Collapse or severe limitations of basic state functions can lead to a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe and cut the armed forces’ lifeline connecting it with the government and society.

Need for New Strategies

Understanding this clearly is a starting point for a much-needed discussion on how to transform Western and, specifically, Central Europe’s support to Ukraine from reactionary short-term fixes to long-term war planning.