For the past seventy years, the EU has been very important for keeping Europe stable. It has helped keep peace and security around the world. The EU has 27 countries and 450 million people. It is the biggest market in the world. Many countries trade with the EU. It also takes part in to other countries development and peace keeping. Russian war against Ukraine is a big challenge for European Union. Now the EU is more united than before against Russian attack and is determined to restore peace. A stronger EU in security and defense will help for global peace and security. The European Union is setting out a plan for the security and defense for the next 5-10 years. It will be start working on it right away.
On13th March, European Union agreed to give an extra 5 billion euros (which is about $5.4 billion) to the European Peace Facility by the end of this year. This almost matches the 6.1 billion euros that Brussels promised since the start of 2022. The European Peace Facility didn’t do much in 2023 because countries decided to help Ukraine on their own instead of working together. There was a problem with Hungary disagreeing with the decision but they changed their mind later. This back and forth has made people think about changing how the European Peace Facility works so it can help Ukraine better. Even though politics might slow down or stop these changes, people are talking a lot about defense in Europe because of upcoming elections. The European Commission just shared its plan to make Europe better at defense and some people think there should be a special person in charge of defense in the European Commission. The upcoming U.S. elections are also making people talk about this. Some people are worried that if Trump wins, the U.S. might stop helping Europe and Ukraine. This makes European countries think they need to work together more for security. The U.S. might not have enough money to keep giving weapons to Ukraine. So, some leaders like David Cameron from the UK and Kaja Kallas from Estonia, suggest giving old weapons to Ukraine and working together to make and send more ammunition. A company in the Czech Republic called Excalibur Army with support from the Czech government is now trying to change one of its factories into a place where they can make and send weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.
Some people don’t see the Ukraine war as a concern for the United States. But in Europe, they are getting ready for more fighting. They think there will be lots of shells fired, so they are planning to make more shells to keep up. Russia is making even more weapons, so they can keep shooting more than Ukraine. What Europe does to protect itself depends on what happens in Ukraine. Both sides are getting ready for more fighting, but they are also trying to get help to win. The outcome of the war will depend on how strong Russia is and how much help Ukraine gets from the West. Russia has a plan for the next few months. First, they will keep fighting everywhere in Ukraine, even though they can’t win quickly. Second, they will try to get more weapons and resources, even from countries like Iran and North Korea. Third, they will try to make other countries stop supporting Ukraine, maybe by spreading false information and causing trouble elsewhere. If Russia succeeds, support for Ukraine might decrease, and Russia could win a big victory. But this war is not just about Ukraine; it affects the whole region and even the world. For Ukraine, things are tough. They don’t have as many resources as Russia, so they need help from outside. They’re also trying to improve their military, especially by using drones. They know they have to act fast to survive, but they are also preparing for the worst, building more defenses and securing their coast. While Ukraine might have an advantage at sea, Russia is still a threat. They are even talking about using nuclear weapons which could cause a lot of damage to everyone involved. So, while Ukraine fights for its survival, the whole world is watching closely.
This entire means there is a bigger chance the fighting might spread, especially in the Black Sea area. Even if Russia gets what it wants in Ukraine and Western countries stop helping Ukraine, things will still be worse for Russia. They will have more problems with their relationships with other countries, their money and their plans for the future. Russia’s actions have worried its neighbors, even the ones who didn’t take sides during the Cold War. Russia wants to stop these neighbors from teaming up against it, especially by joining NATO.
Russia is in a tough spot now, so it might try to make NATO weaker, no matter what happens in Ukraine. One idea could be for Russia to attack a NATO country but not something that would cause a big problem for NATO’s overall goals. If this happens, NATO would have to choose whether to fight back against Russia and risk a big war, or ignore the attack and make NATO look weak which could lead to more attacks in the future. For the Western countries, it is really important that both NATO and the EU stay strong and stick together. Coming elections, especially in the U.S. and Europe, could give Russia a chance to get more power and split these organizations up. Elections might also push Western leaders to take clearer stances on issues like Ukraine and defense. In Europe, there is a big debate about whether to spend more on defense or on other things like social programs. Either way, defense spending will probably go up which could help the weapons industry and create jobs, but many people will want their governments to focus on different areas. These debates and the chance of protests could give Russia more chances to spread its ideas through the media.
