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The Energy Crisis Requires a Military Solution that Compels NATO to Spend like Estonia

Leon Hartwell

Author

Leon Hartwell

Senior Associate, LSE IDEAS

Guillemette Guicherd 2

Author

Guillemette Guicherd

Programme and Research Associate at LSE IDEAS

In this LSE IDEAS Strategic Update, the authors focus on the intimate relationship between the Russia-Ukraine war and the energy crisis, both for Ukraine and the rest of Europe. It is argued that although Western sanctions against Russia’s energy sector have been a welcome political statement, they have so far been inadequate. Moreover, in the absence of expanding Ukraine’s defence systems, supplying the country with critical equipment to rebuild its energy sector while it is under constant Russian bombardment has limited impacts. Consequently, the authors argue that to solve the energy crisis, both for Ukraine and the rest of Europe, NATO and its allies need to “spend like Estonia.” Spending like Estonia would, among others, entail ramping up support for Ukraine to 1.1% of each member state’s GDP. Such an approach could help Ukraine to decisively win the war in 2023, and it would help to avert a potential energy crisis during the next winter.  

Download the PDF:

 The Energy Crisis Requires a Military Solution

 

About the author

Dr. Leon Hartwell is Senior Associate at LSE IDEAS and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington D.C. 

Guillemette Guicherd is Programme and Research Associate at LSE IDEAS.