Europe doesn’t want to fight, but nuclear threat is real — military expert

Valerii Borovyk, military expert and chairman of the board of the New Energy of Ukraine Alliance, said this during a roundtable discussion organized by the Defense Information Consortium.

“I’ll be honest with you — Europe is not even ready to defend its own borders. Drones fly near bases and airports, FSB agents blow up strategic facilities, and many modern pieces of equipment are simply not adapted to front-line conditions. For example, in Germany, it’s practically impossible to even test a drone with a combat payload due to environmental legislation,” Borovyk noted.

In his opinion, only about 30% of the products presented by Western companies at exhibitions are actually suitable for frontline use.

“This isn’t just my observation — it’s confirmed by colleagues: manufacturers often don’t want to take risks or adapt — they just want to sell what they’ve already made,” he emphasized.

At the same time, despite their fears, European governments are beginning to invest in Ukraine’s offensive capabilities: Danish and British programs, funding for long-range strike systems — this is already happening.

“But there’s also a deterrent factor — the fear that Ukraine might become a powerful competitor in technology, especially in space,” Borovyk said.

He also drew attention to the weak institutional support for innovation in Ukraine: the country still has nothing similar to DARPA (the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, responsible for developing new technologies for military use).

“There have been attempts to create one — efforts in the government, some budget allocations — but it never worked systematically. Our innovation policy in defense is still chaotic,” the expert noted.

Borovyk also stressed the need to prepare for a potential nuclear threat:

“It could be a simulation, a tactical strike, or the detonation of a small bomb — but such a threat cannot be ignored. Our radiation protection experts understand this, but they lack sufficient resources,” he emphasized.

In conclusion, Borovyk urged abandoning illusions about a large-scale European military contingent in Ukraine:

“No one wants to fight Russia. Perhaps there are some special forces units operating here, but we’re not talking about tens of thousands of soldiers — and we won’t be, unless Ukraine agrees to extremely unfavorable peace terms… We need to rely on ourselves and on those Western companies that are willing to work with us, transfer technologies, and create new defense solutions together,” he summed up.

The Defense Information Consortium is a coalition of analysts from Ukrainian and international research centers: National Institute for Strategic Studies, Defense Express consulting company, Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, New Geopolitics Research Network, and others. The consortium prepares analytical materials for government bodies to support strategic defense decision-making.

• The era when Europe received cheap energy from Russia and military protection from the U.S. is over. Today, Europe must build its own powerful armed forces, capable of conducting full-scale combat operations without U.S. involvement, according to Ukrainian MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi speaking during the roundtable.
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