Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO has been unwavering in its support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and NATO’s Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre has been helping to ensure that the Alliance learns lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine. This has been demonstrated through the Centre’s various activities and products, including analysis reports, support to the development of a national Lessons Learned capability for Ukraine, and Lessons Learned training. In order to amplify this support, earlier this year, the Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre established the JALLC-UKR Initiative to further support NATO’s and the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Lessons Learned Efforts.
The support provided by the Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre to the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2022 has been well-received. Both NATO and the Ukrainian Armed Forces recognize the need for the latter to learn and adapt faster than the Russian armed forces, and for NATO to continue to capture, analyse, learn, and improve from lessons coming out of the war. In this respect, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been able to capitalize on the NATO approach to Lessons Learned, accelerating the establishment of a rapid and robust national Lessons Learned system of their own. In turn, NATO has had the opportunity to observe Lessons Learned being “done” in the battlefield, gaining fresh perspectives on the real world conduct of lessons Learned from operations. These can then facilitate transformation of the Alliance as part of its wider warfare development plans.
One such opportunity for NATO to engage directly with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the context of Lessons Learned was at the recent NATO Lessons Learned Conference. At this key event for the Lessons Learned community, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr. Stanislav Haider, not only presented his insights on Lessons Learned from the battlefield, but was also able to answer questions (live via video link) from the audience; an opportunity that was greatly appreciated by those attending the event.
Recognizing the importance of strengthening cooperation within the NATO-Ukraine relationship and capitalizing on the shared benefits of Lessons Learned, the Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre established the JALLC-UKR Initiative earlier this year. Intended to be the single point of reference for NATO’s Lessons Information relating to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the JALLC-UKR Initiative is staffed by a dedicated team of analysts from the Centre. These dedicated analysts (military and civilian) conduct Ukraine Lessons Learned-related analysis, producing impactful reports that can inform NATO-wide decision making. Additionally, they collaborate with other Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre analysis project teams to share resources and capture relevant lessons identified in related studies.
For example, the Centre is currently working on two analysis studies, with reports due to be published later this year. One study is intended to capture relevant lessons to inform NATO exercises, the other is intended to inform higher-level decision making within NATO, giving a sense of the breadth and depth of NATO’s need and desire to learn, as well as the sense of urgency. Both reports will ensure that relevant lessons learned insights from Russia’s war against Ukraine are captured and used to improve and transform NATO.
The JALLC-UKR Initiative also hosts an Information Centre, intended to be a comprehensive repository of NATO’s Ukraine-Russia Lessons related Information. This Information Centre—in its comprehensive format—is hosted as a Community of Interest on the NATO Lessons Learned Portal and is only accessible with appropriate security clearances. But a publically accessible (limited) version of the JALLC-UKR Initiative Information Centre has recently been launched on the unclassified version of the NATO Lessons Learned Portal which you can register for here. The JALLC-UKR Initiative Information Centre contains a wealth of searchable lessons information as well as relevant reports and documents being produced by NATO, Allies, and other organizations, offering a rich source of information for anyone interested in the topic. It is continuously being updated and monitored to ensure the most recent and relevant information is uploaded.
Finally, the JALLC-UKR Initiative publishes a regular newsletter, updating the community on its activities and providing valuable insights into the Lessons Learned aspects of Russia’s war against Ukraine in the NATO context. You can download the latest copy of this newsletter here. This second edition covers related presentations from the NATO Lessons Learned Conference, summaries of and links to useful reports, and provides some insights on the Washington Summit declaration from the perspective of Lessons Learned.
The Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre’s support to lessons learned from Russia’s war against Ukraine does not stop at the Centre’s doorstep. During the recent Washington Summit, NATO nations agreed to establish the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre for Ukraine–commonly referred to as JATEC–intended to be NATO’s centre dedicated to support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre, including through its JALLC-UKR Initiative, will provide targeted support to ensure that centre is up and running and able to meet is mission objectives as soon as possible. The Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre is already working to support the initial stages of the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre’s establishment and looks forward to continuing its work with the Ukrainian Armed Forces through its support to this new NATO entity.
In the meantime, the JALLC-UKR Initiative, and the Centre itself, will continue to provide direct Lessons Learned support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Centre will also continue to support NATO in its endeavours to learn from experience to transform for the future.
This article will also appear in the upcoming edition of the Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre’s annual magazine, The Explorer, which is due to be published later this year.
