Two years after Russia’s invasion, NATO remains committed to standing with Ukraine. Allied Command Transformation empowers its defence, sharing knowledge, training, innovative solutions and improving its interoperability with NATO. This unwavering collaboration strengthens not only Ukraine’s future, but also ours.
Saturday 24 February 2024 marks the two-year anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This unprovoked invasion has caused widespread devastation and loss of life.
As a political and military Alliance, founded on shared values of freedom, democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law, it is in NATO’s interest to assist Ukraine by providing the tools it needs to prevail as a sovereign nation, by supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defence and to prevent escalation. The 2023 Vilnius Summit set out a clear vision for Ukraine’s future in NATO, with a package of political and practical support to bring them closer to the Alliance.
That includes the support provided by Allied Command Transformation. General Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, leads the warfare development aspects that benefit Ukraine and reports on militarily relevant strategic observations from the war. He noted that: “Allied Command Transformation remains committed to helping Ukrainians, from education to training, in their warfare adaptation through the lessons learned process, from capability development and Interoperability through innovation.”
Allied Command Transformation is helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces to develop interoperability, military education and training, and more. This assistance has been amplified by Allied Command Transformation-hosted events such as the NATO-Industry Forum, the NATO Communicators’ Conference and the Partnership 360 Conference. These events bring together strategic leaders and thinkers to share knowledge and best practices on the security issues that affect Allied and Partner nations alike. Allied Command Transformation-led events, including CWIX and Hackathon events, help test and develop Ukraine’s warfighting capabilities. This includes DELTA – a military information system designed to improve situational awareness, planning and decision-making.
At the recent Defence Minister’s Meetings in Brussels, twenty Allies agreed to form a demining coalition to help save lives in Ukraine. Serendipitously, Allied Command Transformation is holding an Innovation Challenge on demining in June 2024 seeking innovative solutions for remote reconnaissance and neutralization of mined areas to guarantee safe passage for personnel and aid recovery efforts.
Ukrainian students are also welcome at NATO-affiliated institutions, such as the Centres of Excellence and NATO’s Education and Training Facilities. Ukrainian personnel also thrive at the NATO school Oberammergau, and continued access ensures their ongoing development alongside NATO partners.
Allied Command Transformation spearheaded the development of NATO’s Information Environment Analysis tool; leveraging publicly available information to shape responses to information threats. These insights are shared with our Ukrainian colleagues. In addition, the Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre is providing Lessons Learned and Analysis support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of the overarching NATO-wide efforts in this respect.
As General Lavigne explained: “February 15, Defence ministers decided to create a new NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC). I see the future JATEC as a strategic pillar of NATO-Ukraine relations.” Allied Command Transformation helped establish and operationalize this Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre, which will train and support Ukraine’s Armed Forces from Bydgoszcz, Poland. Its main aims are to learn and apply lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine and to increase interoperability between NATO and Ukraine.
Ukraine’s resilience, innovative mind-set and adaptability are an inspiration. As NATO continues to stand with Ukraine, in order to strengthen the security of both Ukraine and the Alliance, we also have a lot to learn from them so we can better protect our shared future.