Situation difficile pour l’Ukraine : analyse de Guillaume Ancel

Summary

In a detailed interview, Guillaume Ansel, a former French officer and author, discusses the impact of the Ukraine conflict on European defense coordination and the shift in focus to Israel amid the Hamas attack on October 7. He highlights Europe's wake-up call to its defense dependency on the US, as demonstrated by reduced American military aid to Ukraine and the EU's initiative to ramp up ammunition production. Ansel emphasizes the need for European unity in defense to counter threats, critiquing individual national efforts as insufficient against adversaries like Russia. He also touches on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, condemning Netanyahu's strategies as disastrous for Israel and ineffective in resolving the crisis.

Takeaways

• 😀 The war in Ukraine has forced Europe to coordinate its defense efforts and become more self-sufficient militarily
• 😮 Europe is highly dependent on American arms supplies for Ukraine, but the US has shifted focus to the Middle East conflict
• 🤔 Europe realizes it must invest more in its own defense industry and capabilities to assist Ukraine effectively
• 😲 France can currently only produce 30,000 artillery shells annually, far below Ukraine's needs
• 🇪🇺 The EU aims to produce 1 million shells by 2024 to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression
• 🚨 Artillery and ammunition are central to the land war in Ukraine
• 👍 EU cooperation on vaccine production during COVID shows its potential for joint defense initiatives
• 🇷🇺 Russia will keep threatening European nations if unchecked - they need coordinated security
• 🤨 Trump was right that Europe must spend more on defense, but would likely help Putin against Ukraine if re-elected
• ❌ Netanyahu's offensive in Gaza has been a disaster, killed many, and failed to achieve objectives or rescue hostages

Q & A

What does Guillaume Ansel say the war in Ukraine is forcing Europe to do?

Guillaume says the war is forcing Europe to wake up, coordinate its efforts, and realize it needs to invest more in its own defense industry and capabilities rather than relying on the US.

How many artillery shells does Guillaume estimate Russia used against Ukraine in 2023?

Guillaume estimates Russia used between 7 and 8 million artillery shells against Ukraine in 2023.

How many shells can the EU produce annually according to Guillaume?

Guillaume says the EU can currently only produce around 300,000 shells per year, far below Ukraine's needs.

What initiative has the EU launched regarding shell production?

The EU has launched an initiative under Commissioner Thierry Breton to be able to produce 1 million shells by spring 2024.

What does Guillaume say about France's current artillery shell production capacity?

Guillaume says France can currently produce around 30,000 shells per year, which is not enough to supply Ukraine.

How does Guillaume characterize Putin's intentions regarding Russia's borders?

Guillaume says Putin believes Russia has no borders and that all surrounding spaces belong to Russia if he can conquer them.

What does Guillaume say the EU needs to do about security?

Guillaume says the EU needs to realize security will happen at the EU level, like they did with the economy, and invest more collectively in defense.

What does the 1 million shells initiative aim to provide Ukraine?

The initiative would provide Ukraine enough shells to defend itself against Russia's aggression rather than retake lost territory.

What does Guillaume say about Netanyahu's handling of the conflict with Hamas?

Guillaume says Netanyahu is a disaster for Israel, an extremist who does not understand his offensive was a failure that killed thousands of Palestinians without achieving anything.

What does Guillaume say needs to happen for the conflict between Israel and Hamas to end?

Guillaume says Netanyahu needs to be removed from power in Israel if they want to get out of the tunnel he has locked them in.