This is perhaps the beginnings of a “Schengen area of NATO armies”. On January 31, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland signed an agreement to create a “military corridor”. Objective: to streamline the movement of troops and equipment between the allies.
“The large-scale war taking place in Ukraine demonstrates the importance of the rapid movement of allied troops. This led us to sign the agreement to facilitate the mobility of troops from Poland, Germany and the Netherlands on their territories.“, explains Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish Minister of Defense.
“It is impossible to remain indifferent to what Ukrainians are going through. If we want to have strength within the alliance, the mobility of the alliance is the most important thing: the mobility of our armies among ourselves and for ourselves.“
The initiative, which is causing a lot of ink to flow in Russia, must remove legal barriers at the borders and harmonize infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, to allow the passage of large military vehicles.
Military logistics
“This is the next stage of integration. With the geopolitical challenges we see around the world, it has become even more important to have rapid military mobility and smooth logistics“, says Daphné Bergsma, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Poland.
“We call it a “harmonized military corridor” but that’s why we thought it was essential: it’s the first of its kind, and we are very proud that we, the 3 countries, were able to achieve it. . We very actively support Ukraine. (…)_ It is a symbol of how we support Ukraine and, in this sense, also contribute to the defense of Europe._”
Initiated in 2014 during the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the Schengen concept of the armies came out of the box in 2022 with the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among its objectives: to streamline vital military deliveries for Kyiv.
“As a mechanism for rapid and effective transfer of forces, materials, equipment, ammunition, any mechanism that removes borders and constraints that hinder rapid military deployment is simply necessary.”explains Jaroslaw Kociszewski, security expert at the Stratpoints Foundation.
After two years of fighting against Russian forces, logistical speed is more crucial than ever for a Ukrainian army plagued by shortages of equipment and ammunition.
Additional sources • Magdalena Chodownik