Ischinger: Ukraine war keeps Europe safe
Europe remains safe as long as Ukraine continues to resist Russia’s invasion, former head of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger said, warning that Moscow would regroup and turn its attention to NATO if the war were to end.
Speaking in an interview with DW, Ischinger praised Ukraine’s role in safeguarding European security, saying Ukrainian forces have for years held back what he described as Russia’s powerful military, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“As long as this war is being fought, vigilantly and courageously, by our Ukrainian friends, Europe is safe,” he said.
Ischinger argued that Ukraine has effectively “tied down” the Russian army in a prolonged and exhausting conflict. If the fighting were to stop and weapons fall silent in Donbas and other regions, he warned, the Kremlin would gain time to recover and rebuild its forces.
Russia, he noted, spans ten or eleven time zones and would have “all the time in the world” to regroup once the war in Ukraine ends.
He added that Europe’s responsibility for its own security would only increase in that scenario. “So far, the Ukrainians carry the burden. Once the war ends, we will have to carry a much larger share of that burden,” Ischinger said.
The former Munich Security Conference chief agreed with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s assessment that, after Ukraine, Russia’s next potential target could be the North Atlantic Alliance.
European countries are increasingly preparing for the possibility of a broader conflict, primarily by strengthening defence capabilities. Support for Ukraine is also continuing: by the end of 2025, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are expected to receive weapons worth about $5 billion from U.S. stockpiles under the PURL programme.
More than half of NATO’s 21 member states have joined the PURL mechanism to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine. Australia and New Zealand, though not NATO members, have also joined the effort to help procure arms for Kyiv.
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