Continued Financial and Military Support for Ukraine Is Essential to Europe’s Security — Belgian MP

Continued financial and military support for Ukraine is essential to ensuring Europe’s security. If European countries fail to help Kyiv resist Russian aggression now, they will have to spend significantly more resources on their own defence in the future. At the same time, effective deterrence of Russia requires European unity, resolve, stronger defence capabilities and a willingness to respond to Russian attacks.

This was stated in an exclusive interview with Guildhall News Agency by Jeroen Bergers, Member of the Belgian Parliament.

How do you, from your perspective, assess the effectiveness of the current Western deterrence strategy towards Russia and where has it worked and where has it failed and what needs to be changed to restore credible deterrence?

So I think when the war started, our deterrence was lacking, was dramatically lacking due to low manpower, low ammo stocks.

So despite being technologically superior to Russia in the West, we weren’t really deterrent. And that’s maybe also why Putin started this war of aggression against Ukraine.

I think since then in Europe, we really made the call to invest in our military more.

So that is really good. The European defense industry is really rebooting. And so that is important.

But next to that, I think it’s really important in our deterrence strategy that we show resolve and unity. And so you see a lot of isolationism rising on both sides of the Atlantic. I really think that is a threat to our collective security, both in Europe and in America, because that might seduce Russia to attempt to test our strength and go even further.

So we cannot let that happen. We need to be united. We need to show resolve in supporting Ukraine, in investing in our own defense.

Because if you see the situation in Ukraine, it’s of course not great, but you guys are doing great. You inflict heavy casualties on Russia, and that is mainly primarily due to the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers and the drone wall.

So it’s an honor for us as Belgium to be able to help with that by giving you financial help, but also sending rifles, F-16 fighter jets.

And I think that support needs to continue.

Which forms of response do you consider more effective in raising the cost of Russia’s hybrid and conventional aggression, including cyber attacks, sabotage, and other provocations from the Russia side?

I think we need to match Russia’s hybrid war of aggression with our own. I think we need to invest more in destabilizing Russia.

That’s why we also gave our cyber forces the mandate to carry out responsive attacks if we are being attacked in Belgium.

And evidently, we also need to continue taking more and more economic sanctions to mount the pressure on Russia. In that case, I’m very disappointed in the things the American administration under Trump is doing.

I think we need, like I said, show unity and resolve in supporting Ukraine and putting economic pressure on Putin.

This may be not fun. It also costs something for our population.

But if we don’t do it, our collective security is under pressure, and we cannot allow Putin to get away with this war of aggression.

Should NATO and the EU establish clear, pre-agreed responses? For example, if Russia does this, we do this. What concrete measures would make the consequences of Russia’s escalation predictable and sufficiently high cost for Moscow?

I’m not going to speak about concrete measures, but your question is a very good question, because evidently, clear communication is essential if you want to have a successful military deterrence policy.

So yes, NATO needs clear, pre-agreed responses when necessary, that when we are attacked, we know in advance which negative consequences Russia is going to get because they are messing with NATO or messing with the EU.

And if they know that, they will be less tempted to do that as well.

So I’m not going to speak about concrete measures that we have to take, but I think that NATO and the EU needs to agree on what to do.

And it also needs to be clear that the response of the EU and NATO when attacked is heavier and more damaging to Russia than the attacks that they are carrying out on us, because I said already, we are technologically superior to the Russians.

So we need to use that and we need to press that advantage.

And that maybe can also lift a little bit of pressure off of the Ukrainian people that are doing heroic work.

How important is military support for Ukraine to the broader deterrence of Russia? And can Europe credibly deter further Russian aggression if Ukraine lacks the military capabilities needed to impose significant cost on Russian forces?

Extremely important.

If Ukraine loses, Europe loses.

So you guys, and I am immensely grateful for that, you are fighting not only for your own security and freedom, but also for our security and freedom.

You guys are managing to hold the line and inflict disproportionately heavy casualties on Russia.

And that is primarily due to the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers, but also to the domestic production of 10 million drones per year, which is really, really impressive.

Drones that are technologically updated continuously as well.

And so I think it’s an honor for us as Belgians to be able to help, and as a Flemish person, to be able to help Ukrainian frontline soldiers with our rifles, with bullets, with our F-16 fighter jets.

The first one of them, that’s a decision we took recently, our first fighter jets for Ukraine, they will arrive shortly.

But the main technological factor in the success of the Ukrainian resistance is the Ukrainians themselves, is you guys succeeded to produce an immense amount of drones, to be able, also the Ukrainians, to be technologically superior to the Russians.

And so that is super important.

And that effort is impossible without European financial support.

And so it’s evidently, it’s not fun, but Europeans will feel it as well, that we need to support you guys financially.

Because if we don’t give you guys a bit of money now, we’re gonna have to spend a lot more money in the future to be able to secure our own safety.

So maintaining that support is, for me, an essential, an essential to force Russia to accept a ceasefire.

And it’s also something that your nation, your people deserve.

I’m fond of the possibility of my own people, the Flemish people, to decide their future for themselves.

And evidently, the Ukrainians should be able to decide their future for themselves.

And the terrorist war of Putin cannot be successful.

That would be a loss for Ukrainians, for Europeans and for freedom as a whole.

From your perspective, if you could identify three specific steps that European countries should take now to restore credible deterrence toward Russia, what would they be?

First one, like I said, continuing to support Ukraine financially and militarily, send you guys the things we have and the things you need to be able to resist.

That’s the most important one.

Second of all, I think we need to show unity and resolve, matching our answer to what we do to Russian aggression, but also stopping people that want to isolate, people that want to let Ukraine fall and making clear that this policy choice of the United States of America is disappointing.

I think a lot of Americans think that as well and that support for Ukraine.

And third of all, we are facing hybrid attacks as well in our countries.

I think we need to react on that and we need to give the mandate just to carry out hybrid attacks on Russia as well, because that will also be able to help lift the pressure of Ukraine, but also will be a deterrence to Russia by saying enough is enough.

You can’t attack European countries without a response and we really need to show that mentality.

Thank you for this insightful conversation and for taking the time to speak with us!

Guildhall News Agency, exclusive.