The new Ukrainian authorities intend to develop cooperation with NATO. Recently, the director of the information policy department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yevgeny Perebiynis, said that in the future it is planned not only to conduct joint exercises, etc. activities, but also to ensure real compatibility of the armies of Ukraine and NATO countries. In other words, the Ukrainian armed forces are planned to be transferred to the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance. Official Kiev believes that the military of NATO countries will help it in this matter.
In the future, the new Kiev authorities plan to make Ukraine a NATO member, but so far all these plans are too far from being realized. The member countries of the Alliance do not want to admit Ukraine into their circle, which was once again confirmed during the recent NATO summit in Wales. Nevertheless, the NATO organization does not refuse to cooperate with the Ukrainian military and is even ready to provide them with some assistance. It is planned to conduct joint exercises in the future, send specialists and supply non-lethal weapons. There is no talk of Ukraine joining NATO yet.
The NATO leadership has repeatedly stated its desire to continue cooperation with Ukraine. A few days ago, the secretary general of the organization, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, expressed his readiness to help Kiev in the rearmament of the army and the modernization of the defense industry in order to increase their potential. NATO has extensive experience in cooperation with Eastern European states that were formerly members of the Warsaw Pact Organization. Moreover, a large number of these countries are now NATO members. Thus, cooperation between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Alliance can proceed according to already worked out schemes.
Russian officials reacted quickly to Kiev's plans to cooperate with NATO. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the planned transition to the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance will lead to negative consequences: Ukraine will start buying foreign weapons and military equipment, which, in turn, will destroy the country's defense industry.
Behind Rasmussen's words about assistance in re-equipping the army lies the simplest and most understandable feature of possible cooperation between NATO and Ukraine. The Ukrainian military will be supplied with various weapons, machinery and equipment of foreign production. The bulk of the weapons and equipment of the Ukrainian army was produced in Soviet times, which is why the supply of foreign military products can really have a beneficial effect on the state of the troops.
Nevertheless, NATO countries produce and use weapons and equipment designed and built in accordance with the standards of the Alliance, which differ markedly from those used in the USSR and CIS countries. Thus, the supply of new weapons systems will require the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to take measures to provide new weapons and equipment with all the necessary resources, from cartridges to spare parts. Given the almost complete incompatibility of NATO and Soviet standards, such features of the new weapons will significantly complicate the supply of troops with everything they need.
Former members of the Internal Affairs Directorate who joined NATO have already faced a similar problem. The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and a number of other states had to seriously reform their armed forces to meet NATO requirements both in terms of structure and equipment. It should be noted that they received some assistance, but most of the costs of the new members of the organization had to be covered.
Despite all the complexity, the Eastern European states managed to cope with all the necessary programs, as a result of which they were able to join the North Atlantic Alliance. At the same time, however, they suffered significant losses, primarily of a financial nature. In addition, the transformation has hit the defense industry. So, Poland and Czechoslovakia during the existence of the Internal Affairs Directorate had a relatively powerful military industry, which produced licensed copies of Soviet systems, as well as developed their own projects. Not all defense enterprises were able to adapt to new standards, as a result of which modern Czech Republic or Poland are able to provide their armed forces with only a part of the necessary products, and the rest of the weapons and equipment are purchased from foreign countries.
After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine got the second largest defense-industrial complex in the post-Soviet space. The difficulties of the first years of independence led to a reduction in the number of working enterprises, but the rest were able to continue working and kept in touch with colleagues from other countries. Until recently, the Ukrainian defense industry had an interesting feature: ready-made samples of weapons and military equipment had a relatively small share in the structure of manufactured products. Most of the products of the enterprises were various components supplied to other organizations, primarily Russian ones. The deliveries of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian army were few and far between.
Constant difficulties of various nature and the recent order of the new authorities, according to which the Ukrainian defense enterprises should stop cooperating with Russia, significantly increase the risks associated with the transition to NATO standards. Ukraine and its enterprises may not have sufficient funds to carry out all the necessary programs and modernize production in accordance with the new standards. Thus, a considerable part of the enterprises involved in servicing the armed forces will, over time, lose their already few orders.
NATO says it is ready to help Ukraine carry out all the necessary programs, but these plans do not seem to include the development of industry. So, 15 million euros, which the Alliance intends to spend on helping Ukraine, will go to the implementation of various joint programs. It is supposed to pay attention to communication and command and control systems, cyber defense, logistics, etc. So far, no one is going to provide assistance in the purchase of new weapons and military equipment.
The new Ukrainian leadership is serious about bringing the country to NATO. The North Atlantic Alliance has not yet expressed a desire to admit Ukraine into its membership, but it is not opposed to cooperation with it. Nevertheless, NATO is unwilling to provide serious support to its Ukrainian counterparts. As part of expanding cooperation, Kiev is going to transfer its army to new standards. In the new conditions, taking into account the economic and political situation, such plans are unlikely to lead to a positive result, but they have every chance to harm the economy and industry of Ukraine.
