Article by: Hans Petter Midttun. Sept 28.

Hans Petter Midttun is educated at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, the Norwegian National Defence Command and Staff College and the Norwegian Defense College, as well as education from the Federal Defence Forces of Germany. He has broad international experience from both operations and postings abroad (NATO, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Ukraine). The service includes seven years in command of frigates and six NATO deployments. Midttun put into operation, tested and verified the operational capabilities of one of the newest frigates in the Norwegian Navy. He served at the Norwegian Joint Headquarters and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) before being posted to Ukraine as the Norwegian Defence Attache (2014-2018). Based on previous experiences, Midttun is presently publishing articles and analytic works on the security situation in and around Ukraine as a private person.

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Western support for Ukraine is slow and half-hearted. By staying idle in the fear of a hypothetical catastrophe while accepting a multitude of real catastrophes, NATO is already paying a heavy price, says military analyst Hans Petter Midttun. 

According to its strategic concept, “NATO is determined to safeguard the freedom and security of Allies. Its key purpose and greatest responsibility are to ensure our collective defense, against all threats, from all directions.”

After nearly 15 years of Russian transgressions of international law – including attacking Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, as well as waging a hybrid war against the USA and Europe for years – the Alliance has finally concluded that “the Euro-Atlantic area is not at peace.

After nearly 15 years; in the face of continuous and open aggression and after constant calls for action by the Eastern European countries.On the eve of the NATO summit in Madrid, the Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nauseda, said that:

“The war [in Ukraine] has fundamentally challenged the security architecture of the West. Russia has been publicly challenging the West for at least the past 15 years. It has tried to gain the upper hand through aggressive action, first in Georgia in 2008, then in Ukrainian Crimea and Donbas in 2014.

Despite all this, some Western countries have continued business as usual with Moscow, some even expanding their cooperation. For decades, the West has failed to understand what Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime is about — namely expansionism, revisionism, violence, and rule by fear and coercion.

Russia is not interested in creation or cooperation, but rather in destruction and rule by force. The time has come to understand that Russia cannot be stopped by persuasion, cooperation, appeasement or concessions. Russia takes such gestures as a sign of weakness, as permission to expand and intensify its onslaught. Putin is clear in his desire to subvert Western values, cut the links between North America and Europe, and subdue Europe to Russia’s will.” 

He concluded that NATO must make sure Ukraine wins. He echoes the sentiments of most European leaders who have experienced the “Russian world.” This is why Poland submitted a proposal for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, why Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia in March put forward a plan to save Ukraine, and why Eastern Europe is offering defense support above their weight.

Poland has delivered more tanks than anyone else, while the Baltic countries have emptied their stockpiles of certain weapons in support of Ukraine’s defense of Euro-Atlantic security.

They all recognize that Ukraine is fighting for us, for Europe, for freedom, and peace in Europe.