Using the example of the war in Ukraine, the United States is learning how to defend Taiwan against a possible attack by China. As the Associated Press writes with reference to research by the American Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington has already made five relevant conclusions. The first is that you need to arm the ally in advance. In the case of Kyiv, Western support, the publication says, began with a "cold start", that is, practically from scratch. If Ukraine had a lot of Western weapons before February 24, it would at least defend itself much better. In the case of Taiwan, it is important not to make such a mistake ― in particular, because China will be able to isolate this island country for days or weeks. It is important for Taipei to hold out during this time, which will not be possible without stockpiles of weapons. The second conclusion is that the Allies should have a large stockpile of weapons themselves, and in particular shells. In the Taiwan campaign, naval and air forces are likely to be more actively involved, and ground support will have a limited role, but it is still important to prevent the ammunition starvation that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently facing. The third conclusion follows from the second: it is necessary to prepare production for the rapid replenishment of stocks of shells, if an active military conflict "eats" them. In the fourth conclusion, the authors draw attention to the extent to which the role of space technologies, in particular satellite images and communications, has increased in modern warfare. And, finally, they mention the cyber war, which has not manifested itself noticeably in Ukraine at the moment, but Chinese hackers may prove to be more effective than Russian ones.
France24 writes about the watershed between the "Global North" and the "Global South", which was accentuated by the Russian-Ukrainian war. Many countries of the "Global South" declare their neutrality regarding this war, but in reality they play into the hands of Russia. India and China are buying Russian energy, Saudi Arabia has decided to limit oil production, which has raised oil prices and helped Putin fill the war budget. And South Africa, just on the anniversary of the large-scale invasion, is conducting military exercises together with Russia and China. Also playing into Russiaʼs hand is the constant choice of the "abstain" position during the UN General Assembly votes related to the war. At the same time, the governments of these countries are not necessarily bribed by the Kremlin in some way: often their motives are anti-imperialist or left-wing beliefs. Only their ideas are quite distorted. France24 describes the case of Kavita Krishnan, an Indian activist who was in the leadership of the Communist Liberation Party of India for a long time. Most of the members of this party actually chose a position convenient for the Kremlin. And Krishnan became interested in Ukrainian history a few years before the start of a large-scale war. She learned, for example, that the widely publicized achievements of Soviet industrialization in India were partly "thanks" to the deaths of millions of Ukrainians during the Holodomor. It was also news to her that life under Stalin was no better for most Ukrainians than during the Nazi occupation. Disagreeing with the position of her political power, Krishnan left the party, and the concept of a "multipolar world" promoted by, in particular, Moscow and Beijing, in an essay now known in dozens of countries, was renamed "a multi-dictatorship world", where different autocracies simply divided the spheres of influence among themselves.
EU countries should create a joint fund to help Ukraine with weapons, French politicians Nathalie Loiseau and Benjamin Haddad write in a column for Politico. The war in Ukraine will be long, and who knows how stable the US aid to Kyiv will be, especially considering the presidential elections in 2024, the politicians write. The EU, as an organization that can only be harmed by Russiaʼs victory, should be aware of this and prepare for it ― in particular, by creating a fund that Ukraine can instantly use to obtain ready-made weapons from the warehouses of various EU countries. This model has already been tested in France, and it has shown its effectiveness: supplies of Caesar or Crotale installations to Ukraine occur faster than similar weapons from other countries. And even if the war ends, Kyiv must be able to protect itself from Russia, and such a fund will significantly help this.