Camilla Jessen
Ukraine’s military is now one of the most capable and forward-looking in the world.
Ukraine’s military is no longer just aspiring to meet NATO standards. It is setting new ones.
That’s the view of retired General Michel Yakovleff, former Deputy Chief of Staff of NATO’s Rapid Reaction Corps, who says Ukraine’s experience in large-scale warfare has made it a leading military force.
“The Strongest Army Among NATO Countries Is Not in NATO”
Speaking to Ukrinform on June 25, Yakovleff emphasized that Ukraine’s military has surpassed NATO in key areas of modern warfare.
While NATO still has advantages in maneuver warfare, Ukraine is ahead in fields like drone operations, reconnaissance, and frontline adaptability.
“The NATO standard today falls short of the Ukrainian standard,” Yakovleff said. “In high-intensity, large-scale warfare—drones, target detection, and so on—it is Ukraine that is the real school.”
He pointed out that Ukraine is no longer just a partner aspiring to join NATO, but a country whose battlefield experience can help modernize the alliance.
A New Kind of NATO Member
Yakovleff noted that many current NATO members joined through the Partnership for Peace program, approaching the alliance with a mindset of learning and adapting.
“Half of NATO today is made up of countries that started through the Partnership for Peace,” he said. “All of them—including Poland—came into NATO with both hands raised to the sky, pleading: ‘Please take me, I want to learn!’”
But Ukraine, he said, will join from a position of strength and experience.
“The day Ukraine joins NATO, it will say: ‘Hold on, guys. I fought for you. My army is the biggest, strongest, and most competent. This is 21st-century war—I know what that means, and you don’t.’”
Contribution Beyond Manpower
Yakovleff stressed that Ukraine’s value to NATO goes far beyond its military size.
“It will reshape NATO’s understanding of modern warfare,” he said. “The new member of the club won’t have that modesty, because it will know for certain that NATO owes something to Ukraine—not the other way around.”
On June 24, UK Defence Secretary John Healey echoed the importance of continued support for Ukraine, speaking at the NATO public forum “A Strong Ukraine for a Just and Lasting Peace.”
Healey warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants global attention to shift away from the war, but said NATO remains committed to keeping Ukraine at the center of its defense strategy.
