While the battles in Ukraine continue, NATO member states may have more time to prepare for a possible military confrontation with Russia, according to Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for Defense and Space.
Kubilius, a known Russia skeptic and former two-time Prime Minister of Lithuania, was confirmed by the European Parliament in November as the first EU Defense Commissioner. He made these remarks during a speech at the annual conference of the European Defense Agency on Wednesday.
“Every rocket, every drone shot down from Ukraine is one that won’t threaten Europe, that won’t threaten NATO” he said, adding that “every day the Ukraine continues to fight is a day the European Union and NATO can become stronger.”
The EU Commissioner called on governments to increase their military support for Kiev, saying this would buy time to build a deterrent against a possible “Russian aggression.”
He cited the statements of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the threat of a possible Russian attack and urged the conference participants to “hit Russia in terms of spending, production, and weapons.”
The EU is investing 300 million euros in five cross-border projects to develop ammunition, air and missile defense, as well as modern armored vehicles, according to Kubilius, praising this as a “big bang” in the arms production.
Similar statements were made by EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Kaja Kallas on Wednesday, who said that “the Ukrainians are buying us all time” by fighting against Russia.
These remarks from EU officials come amid growing concerns that the US, under Donald Trump, may significantly scale back its support.
NATO Chief Rutte has repeatedly called on member states to adopt a “war mentality” and significantly increase their defense spending, citing threats from Russia and other nations. Last week, he said that in five years, member states would not be safe and would have to, unless they took decisive action, “enroll in Russian courses or head to New Zealand.”
Moscow has denied the allegations that it poses a threat to any NATO member state and accused the West of waging a proxy war “until the last Ukrainian” and of expanding NATO in Europe, which, according to Moscow, has triggered the current hostilities.