Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[Ryuu96]

LULEA, Sweden — NATO must compel its member nations to grow their military spending if the alliance is to deter Russia effectively beyond the war in Ukraine and manage other threats to transatlantic security, Britain’s defense chief said, outlining his ambitions for the bloc’s future as it considers its next leader.

“The world is getting more dangerous, more insecure and more anxious, and the next secretary general has to be able to deliver that funding to make sure that that is never taken off the boil,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an interview this week.

“That is our demand signal,” he said. “Until Ukraine happened, there were too many people who didn’t want to see the threat from Putin, and look where we are now.” The same complacency exists today, he said, about the threats posed by China and destabilizing activity in Africa.

Wallace spoke with The Washington Post as speculation intensifies about who will replace NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following his expected departure this year. Officials from alliance nations have said that likely contenders, in addition to Wallace, include Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

And contrary to the private ruminations of some other NATO officials, Wallace said there was a real possibility Ukraine could successfully retake Crimea, the peninsula Putin illegally annexed in 2014, this year as Russian forces run out of needed equipment.

“What we’ve seen on the battlefield is that, if you punch Russian forces in the wrong place, they’ll actually collapse,” he said. “You can send young men to die in their tens of thousands, which is what they do, but you can’t magic up tanks and weapons systems that they need.”

Wallace said a number of nations were ready to forge bilateral or multilateral “mutual defense pacts” with Ukraine and commit to longer-term plans to build the country’s military capability “to make sure it’s a very expensive opportunity for Russia or anyone else to invade Ukraine in the future.”

That might succeed in deterring Russia because, in Wallace’s view, “Russia’s land forces are going to be significantly depleted for the next 10 years.”

As the conflict grinds on, Wallace said Western countries remain supportive of providing weapons and funding to Ukraine without pressuring leaders in Kyiv to negotiate with Russia or make concessions.

Britain's Ben Wallace, A Contender To Run NATO, Details His Vision - The Washington Post

I'd support that, I think he'd make a good NATO Secretary General, UK was the first to send Western MBTs, the first to send Long-Range Missiles and IIRC the first to send Anti-Ship Missiles. Amongst the first to supply Ukraine and one of the heaviest suppliers.

I think Kaja Kallas would be better as European Commission President but her no nonsense attitude towards Russia would make her a good NATO Secretary General too, if Jens decides to leave, Jens has been good though so ideally I'd want him to stay until Ukraine wins.