UAFP Strategіс Paper: «European and Ukrainian security at risk»
Defence
The Ukraine Facility Platform (UAFP) warns that European and Ukrainian security is at critical risk and calls for an immediate shift toward joint defence-industrial development, arguing that neither Europe nor Ukraine can withstand Russia’s long-term military threat without an integrated strategy and shared capabilities. Military aid to Ukraine must become more effective, and this is only possible if Europe adapts its strategic view of the war to battlefield realities and develops a unified diplomatic, military, industrial, and technological strategy with Ukraine.
The strategy note «European and Ukrainian security at risk: some elements of a coping strategy», was prepared by Kees Klompenhouwer, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine (2013–2017) and a member of the Coordination Committee of the Ukraine Facility Platform.
Klompenhouwer presented the document at a high-level meeting in Lviv in November, attended by leading European defence and security experts. The discussion led to the creation of the EU-UA Strategic Defence Advisory Group, which now unites experts, diplomats, politicians, and former officials from Poland, France, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Ukraine.
Why does strategy matter?
According to the paper, the fates of Ukraine and Europe have become inseparable across political, military, economic, technological, and cultural dimensions. The relationship is now existential. While many supportive initiatives emerged since the full-scale invasion, most were improvisational and reactive. The paper argues: it is time to build a lasting strategic framework.
The global security shift:
Russia shows no intention of ending its war against Ukraine or its hybrid campaign against Europe, waging a war of choice backed by China, North Korea and Iran and turning the conflict into a wider geopolitical confrontation. China’s own revanchist ambitions reinforce this dynamic, supporting Russia to tie down the West while expanding Beijing’s global reach. Meanwhile, the US administration remains primarily focused on China and intent on avoiding a two-front conflict, increasing the risk of premature concessions to Moscow. In this context, unified European-Ukrainian diplomacy is essential. Europe must urgently reassess its strategic posture and demonstrate to Russia that its war can only end in a strategic impasse.
Military and defence-industrial strategy:
- Europe and Ukraine must bring NATO’s strategic assumptions in line with battlefield reality and move toward a shared strategy that unifies diplomacy, military planning, industrial development and technology. A joint defence-industrial base is central to this effort.
- A European audit of Ukraine’s defence production would identify immediate opportunities for scaling, allowing Ukraine to accelerate innovation, produce effective weapons at lower cost and strengthen Europe’s overall defence posture.
- Joint production would simultaneously sustain Ukraine’s war effort and expand Europe’s own industrial capacity, while helping resolve export-licence and software constraints that limit weapon use.
- Deterrence should be reinforced through the coordinated deployment of French and British nuclear forces and far deeper intelligence cooperation, as inadequate intelligence leads to strategic failure. The logical next step is mutual investment and joint procurement – despite the considerable legal, financial and administrative obstacles – which is essential for building a sustainable, integrated European-Ukrainian defence ecosystem.
The full paper «European and Ukrainian Security at Risk» is available in both English and Ukrainian:
